Hey yall I would love some suggestions for daily workouts that I can do for overall strength and building muscle pre-op. I go to the gym 1-2 times a week and have a routine for when I go, but I’m wondering if it would be good to do some basic daily stuff at home as well and what that should look like ?

I’m at least trying to build my chest before I get top surgery so that’s kind of my main focus but I also just want to do things for my whole body. If anyone could suggest a routine of 3-4 exercises I could do daily to supplement my infrequent gym trips it would be greatly appreciated. I know consistency is key so I’m trying to get on top of at least working out daily even if it’s just a little bit.

I’m asking for advice because it’s pretty overwhelming to pick and choose exercises from the internet that everyone claims are “the best routine” and such. I also get pretty worried about whether the routine I come up with on my own will be a “waste of time”or be inefficient for my goals. I want to be doing the most optimal workouts and it’s hard to figure out where to start. I figured since this is a ftm space I could get more clear and specific answers !

I am scheduled to get body masculinization surgery next month, to reduce my hips/love handles. I decided to get this because I know I can't spot reduce fat and they make me very dysphoric. Even when I weighed 110 pounds (I weigh 160 now) my hips still had fat and were prominent. I don't want to lose weight overall, I just want to reduce the size of my hips. I am wondering if others think this would be possible if I targeted my obliques more or if getting liposuction is my best bet. I would prefer to not have to go through surgery to reduce them and would rather do it through working out, but I'm just unsure if that's possible. Any advice would be appreciated!

I’m 311 lbs 6ft tall, and sedentary due to sickle cell. I know typically, makes eat 2000 calories a day.
I had dropped 65 lbs and went from 338 to 283. I did it by eating 1200 calories a day. My dietitian said it was unhealthy and I did pass out one day. So I started eating 1700 calories and my weight has gradually came back.

Could it be that my body holds on to weight because I’m not eating 2000 calories? I’ve noticed that I was 316 a couple days ago when I started eating 2000 calories, I did drop weight. What gives??

Pleasantly surprised, but the t acne going CRAZY. I think I've started to be able to feel my back a little more too, though if anyone has tips on like..mental exercises to activate back muscles during rows n pull ups I'd like to hear them

Has anyone noticed a massive increase in the amount they sweat while on T? I’ve been on T for 10 years now and have never really noticed it as I never did a lot of exercise. But now I’ve been getting into taekwondo regularly, I’ve noticed the amount I’m sweating is insane. I’m literally dripping from my head and my dobok (uniform) gets absolutely drenched. Obviously sweating is expected during exercise and completely normal as your body needs to cool down, but comparing myself to all the other guys in my class I’m definitely the heaviest sweater. It drips onto the floor and I leave big sweat marks on the mats when doing floor work, it’s kinda embarrassing

Obligatory body euphoria pic because I'm finally starting to get some tone in my arms! Been on a health journey for about 8 years now since I became chronically ill, and while other adjustments have increased my quality of life, going on T has definitely been one of the best choices I've ever made. 1.5 years low dose, so changes are slow and not super dramatic, but I'm happy with the androgyny and I've honestly never felt this good about myself.

Downside is of course instead of all of my fat going to my butt, it now goes to my belly. Besides just a bunch of crunches and cardio, anyone have suggestions for routines to trim the belly fat and just generally building upper body muscle? My legs have always been pretty muscular and they're already pretty solid, so I'm trying to shift my focus. Haven't really done any dedicated strength training in years so I have no idea what I can bench or anything like that.

Title. My primary goal is to build a more masculine body and my secondary goal is to actually get stronger. I was wondering about the best # of reps. What I currently do is 3x10-15 (I start at 10 then do 13 then do 15 then move up in weight)

Some sources say 6-8 reps with heavier weights is best for building muscle, but others say 8-12. Any input as to what different amounts of reps do?

I got surgery--periareolar-- scheduled for a month from now after the surgeon had a cancelation :D I'm hyped, but had been banking on more time to start working out/building pec muscle.

Would I be able to build significant enough muscle in the month that I have left? Or should I focus on getting to the gym more post op?

Is it normal to not be hungry post op?

Almost a week post op, and I'm eating about 1/3 of normal intake. Which hasn't bothered me, and makes sense as I'm not burning as many calories, but I'm wondering how much of it is ED. I have a fairly under control excercise bulimia. I've dealt with the shame of eating by being endurance athlete and construction worker. Easily burn 4k cal in one bike ride, and bike 200 miles/week on top of tile job and martial arts and occasional gym rat phase. Being sedentary is novel and strange. I caught myself opening fridge, thinking I should at least make a smoothie, but then thought "Why? I'm not DOING anything."

Should I be trying to consume more, even if I'm not hungry? Or can I trust my hunger signals?

I've been working out consistently for about a year but have been feeling stagnant lately. All my lifts have gone up but I still feel like I haven't accomplished much for the time I've put in compared to others.

deadlift:75-170 bench: 45- 105 squat: 65-165 overheard:30-75 row:65-120

I've put on about 40 pounds over the year and definitely have more muscle but I now feel fat because I started skinny fat and bulked to built muscle so the fat is still there.

I followed the reddit ppl on boostcamp and it takes me ~2hrs and I feel somewhat fed up with that program due to how long it takes and the amount of volume. But when trying others I can't stick to them because I'm scared going down from that amount of volume will get me less gains.

So I’m 17, been on T for 2 years now. I’m in the process of enlisting in the army, but they said I need to go off of T for basic training.

How much strength can I expect to lose even if I have been lifting for almost two years daily? A significant amount, a low amount, etc? I would have to pass male standards.

edit: guys i don’t need to be told not to enlist, seriously. i just needed an answer to the question.

FTM long distance backpacker here. Most recently finished hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles from Mexico to Canada).

I've been asked lots of questions about gear for small statured folks, medication while on trail, general backpacking advice so thought I'd make an AMA post here!

My stats: -33 years old -10 years on T -post op top & MLD phallo -5'1 / 105lbs -11lb base weight (backpack)

I’m pretty new to lifting and I started with dumbbells. It was obviously hard but I figured that’s just working out. When I switched to a barbell though- it felt easier for some reason (for biceps curls and shoulder presses) (also yes I was obviously doubling the weight from each hand for the barbell)

But even stranger is lateral raises used to kill me. I’d be fighting for my life at 10lbs. However when I used a lateral raise machine I was able to set the weight to 45lbs?? Now I don’t know if that’s per side or in total but still that’s an insane increase. Does anyone know why I could have had such an improvement with the machine?

Couldn't take a video unfortunately but feeling super happy - I have been climbing for about a month and a half with about 3 weeks of not being able to climb within that.

Very excited, don't really have any IRLs that I can share with so :')

Sounds stupid, but hear me out, k

I've only been working out for 1 month and want to start doing more chest exercises. The problem that occur is that every time I do these exercises, I feel absolutely nothing in my chest. Like, when I do back, abs, triceps, and such I feel the muscle im targeting getting used. But when I do chest, I can't feel anything in upper or lower. It's kinda bumming me out. I've been told that you're supposed to be able to feel it when you do the workouts, but no matter my form or weights used, I can't feel it. I sometimes even feel it in my shoulders, something I want to prevent since I already train them so much.

Are there any exercises that actually affect the chest or might it be something with my form?

I currently only have access to dumbbells that weight between 4-6 kg and a behemoth of a workout machine that goes up to 100 kg without added sand. Just FYI.

Hey y’all, I know this isn’t much of an FTM specific question but are there any college bros here who have any tips for losing weight/tracking cals while getting most/all meals from a college dining hall? Doesn’t help my college has quite the expansive dessert bar everyday 😭

Happy Milestone Monday! Please use this thread to post about any accomplishments or achievements you've hit. Whether it's getting to the gym 2 days in a row or dropping fast food, we want to hear about it here!

If you're brand new to the sub, brand new to fitness, or a long-time lurker, welcome to the sub!

Because this thread is likely to fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

Anyone else deal with chronic illness? It’s been a HARD past 7 years in my court and I’ve gone from being at the gym 4-5 days a week and eating well and feeling fit to now—- some days I can barely walk a mile without feeling so weak, eating enough is a massive chore on symptomatic days, etc. Other days I can do much more, but they seem to be growing less often. that said, I really miss being physically fit, not simply just because I was “healthier” but also because it gave me some sense of ownership and connection with my body. It’s also important for me to get back to it for the sake of things like bone health, heart health, etc.

My question is— where do you start? What do you do? How did you ramp up? How do you modify to deal with everything?

Thanks lads

It’s everyone favorite day of the week: Selfie Sunday! Please use this thread to show off and cheer each other on. Or, you can also use this thread to ask for some feedback on your physique and get some constructive feedback. Please post your selfies as a comment using Imgur or similar links, give us a little context, and let us know if the post is NSFW or SFW.

I started going to the gym ( I’ve been going consistently 8 months now) . I was trying to lose weight/gain muscle all while starting T. But I’m gonna be honest Ive gained a lot more fat on my body then I like + the weight on the scale keeps going up. I’m feeling really frustrated and down about it. It just goes too all the sudden places that make me uncomfortable. Any tips? I do 40-60 minutes of cardio 3x a week and if I have time strength training 3x a week. I eat 1700-2000 kcals and I’m 250lbs (I was 235 when I started T)

Hi everyone,

I had top surgery 6 weeks ago and want to slowly get back at working out in the gym. I eat around 80-100g protein a day and live an active life. I cycle and walk a lot for example, I hit 6-12k steps on an average day and cycling is my main mode of transportation ( I live in the Netherlands :p) so I have been active the past few weeks but want to get back into training with weights.

I have a history of going to the gym, max for me is 3x a week (weightlifting) and I guess I do mostly cardio in my daily live by staying active. My surgeon said I could go back to everything normal after 6 weeks, but do I have to be careful with lifting arms and training chest? To prevent scar stretching etc. I massage my scars 2 or 3x a day for 5 minutes each time.

I have quite a bit of chest muscle and also I’m a little buff, but I want to lose a little more fat and build more muscle. I have a history of counting calories and although it did work and gave me a feeling of control, it takes up way too much energy and don’t want to live like that anymore. My main diet is high in protein and relatively low in calories (besides snacking and alcohol).

Main question, what would you recommend doing? Push / pull / legs and then cardio in daily live? Do I have to be careful with training chest and stretching scars?

Basically one of my wrists is really fucked up to the point that I haven’t been able to bend it at all for years. It hurts, but the total inflexibility is the bigger issue. I have severe arthritis, I think the reason I physically can’t bend my wrist is because my actual bones are deformed or something. I’ve showed no signs of improvement in the years following my dx so it will probably be like this for the rest of my life.

I really want to be able to work out my upper body to offset my wide as fuck hips and strengthen my arms, but so many of the machines at the gym are impossible to use in my condition. My height and physique cause me immense dysphoria to the point that I contemplate detransitioning regularly even though doing so would be a death sentence. Not trying to be a doomer but I feel truly hopeless and pathetic.

Does anyone have any ideas for what I could do? I get if this is above reddit’s paygrade but I thought I would ask here just in case anyone has dealt with something similar or could suggest workouts that don’t require bending of the wrist. Lower body is a piece of cake, but I’m reluctant to go hard on my legs because I’m not trying to make myself even more bottom heavy.

Thanks in advance

Edit: thank you for all the responses!

Unfortunately I don’t have access to a PT currently and won’t for some time, hence my asking here, but I do use a wrist brace at night so I’ll try taking it with me next time. I’ll definitely be giving all your workout recommendations a try too. Also no skipping leg day lol. Thanks again :D

How do I fix being not muscular but still skinny, except I have a lot of fat in my lower half. Its really annoying and I am not sure a fix. For reference I am 5’6 and 140 pounds.

Basically as the title says. I'm in the process of interviewing surgeons and I need to be in better shape for the process. The thing is, I really fucking hate working out. I've barely gotten into doing yoga every now and then, and even that is hard to keep up a consistent routine.

Does anyone have tips for switching out of the mindset of "god this is torture"? I want to be ripped, I love muscles and muscle definition and I want to be healthier, and at the same time I'm about to have a breakdown over not even wanting to do some pushups right now but having SO much hinge on this.

I'm 5'6", 17ftm, just over one year on T, have average male range levels for my age. This time last year I was 168 lbs, now I'm 158, but have been fluctuating between 155.5 and 158.5 for the past three months. Everytime I get to about 156 or lower I lose my self control and start eating a bunch more, even tho I don't need to do so to feel full. This was a mild issue until this last week and a half, including today. My maintenance is about 2200 calories, I go to the gym to lift 3-5 days a week (I have been consistent with this up since June) and I try to walk often, other than that I am quite sedentary. This past week and a half I've had 5 3000+ calorie days, much more than I ever ate previously, and I went back up to 158. I was previously trying to lose fat and get down to 150 lbs, but at this point I'd just like to get this eating thing under control before I think about losing again. I'm not even sure exactly what's causing it, I like the taste of food and I guess some switch in my brain flips when I've been successful with self control for two or three weeks. I don't want to continue eating so much, I can tell it's not due to hunger and I know how many calories my body needs to maintain. Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea how to curb it/build better self control habits?

my routine right now isn't too intense, i try to do a 30min full body (no equipment) workout daily and that paired w my diet + being on a steroid has given me some muscle !

im a semi-recovered anorexic so im still kinda small, about 80lbs at 5'2, i bought two 6lbs handheld weights cus i don't wanna overdo it -- as of right now i eat around 1200 calories and 60g of protein daily so if that needs to change im willing to change it

my main goal's to build muscle in my arms / shoulders while staying somewhat slim, i think u could call it lean ? i don't wanna be insanely built just more masculine looking

tldr what are some low-intensity weightlifting exercises i can start with ?

edit to include my routine : 35sec front plank, 20sec side plank (right), 20sec side plank (left), 60sec crunches, 30 sec arm swings (forward), 30 sec arm swings (backward), 20sec pushups, 60 sec russian twists, and i repeat all of those 2 more times

(i also know to do warmups and cooldowns)

im thinking of replacing the 60sec of arm swings with some sort of lifting exercise before my cooldown but i don't know what yet

Hi, I'm officially 2 months on T! Yay!

Unfortunately I've gained almost 8 ish lbs since starting, and gone up and inch or two on my waist and tummy. What are some good tips to combat the hormonal weight gain/fat gain when you guys first started Testosterone? I've been chugging water like crazy and doing healthy amounts of cardio 3+ times a week.