Month 10 of My Transformation

January 2025

Month 12 of My Transformation

February 2025

Month 15 & 16 of My Transformation

May 2025

Day 1 Vs Month 16

Transformation

I increased my squat PR from 80kg to 100kg and my bench press PR from 50kg to 60kg in 1 month

It all started in September 2023 when I decided to begin weighted calisthenics (before this, I was doing push-ups without weights, but I was inconsistent, which is why I haven't included it). But from September, I decided to stay consistent and track my progress.

The picture on the right is of me after doing 6 months of weighted calisthenics. Throughout that period, I made constant adjustments to my workout plan by altering the number of sets I did, and sometimes even using weights that were too heavy and didn't benefit me.

However, I made sure to progressively overload to make sure that I was continuously getting stronger over time.

My Story

I continued to do weighted calisthenics for about 9 more months before I decided to start working out at the gym.

During my year of weighted calisthenics, I made some decent progress that I was happy with, in terms of strength and muscle. Here's a picture of me in December 2024. I noticed that I gained some chest mass, even though I wasn't posing the same in this picture.

In January 2025, I decided to switch my training and get a gym membership. It was my friend who got me into the gym, as he was about to start working out there, so we both decided to get our memberships at the same time and work out together.

When I first joined, I was doing a range of exercises and exploring all the possible exercises I could do to target my full body. So, in around a week, a lot of trial and error was done.

Then, after that week, I had somewhat of an idea of what exercises I was going to be consistently doing in the long term and decided to stick with them. And at the end of January, I made pretty significant progress, as if I broke a plateau and found a new gear of muscle growth.

Here's a picture of me at the end of January. You can see the muscle mass that I've gained, my chest has gotten bigger, my arms are wider, my shoulders are broader, and I even have some increased definition.

I had gained a total of 6kg of lean mass.

In the following month, I stayed on the same plan and gradually got stronger and stronger.

Here's a picture of me mid-February; I look slightly bigger, indicating the ongoing progress I was making.

But near the end of the month, I hit a plateau.

Throughout the rest of February and March, I continued with my same routine, but I also got a knee injury that resulted in me not squatting for about 10 days. Regardless, I was able to come back with motivation and discipline.

It was only until the beginning of April that I realised the one crucial mistake I was making, preventing me from gaining even more muscle mass and strength.

It was not lifting HEAVY enough.

In this period, I was using weights that usually gave me between 10 and 12 reps. Sometimes I would go down to 6 or 7, but that was only because I was very fatigued from the previous sets, which was the result of another mistake I was making.

Not progressively lifting heavy stalled my muscle growth, and even though I made progress from January to February, it practically came to a halt the following month.

Also, my squatting form limited the amount of weight I could lift as I was putting unnecessary pressure on my knees by leaning too far forward, which resulted in the 10-day injury and my inability to increase my squatting weight without feeling pain.

But as soon as I addressed this issue, my progress SKY-ROCKETED.

As soon as I addressed these issues, I was practically getting bench-press PRs every week, and squat PRs every SESSION. For example, in my first workout session of April (which was at the beginning of April), I was doing 5 sets of 60kg squats for 8 reps, and then the following session, I was doing the same, but with the first set being 65kg.

For the bench, I was doing 4 sets of 45kg bench-press for 7-8 reps each, and the following week I was doing the same but with 47.5kg on the first set. And this only continued as I continued to work out.

Hopefully from reading my story, you now know how crucial it is to be aware of mistakes that could cost your progress and cause you to plateau. I've been working out for over a year, and have had many plateaus, but also a fair number of break-throughs, all from adjusting simple things in my routine.

All of that is in my workout plan and guide, only for £4, which is pretty reasonable.

Here are the main things that you'll benefit from in my workout plan:

• How to optimise the weight you use to maximise your strength & muscle growth

• How many reps to perform to maintain performance in your following sets and reps

• How to properly progressively overload with reps, sets and weight (AKA the strategy I used to increase my squat from 65kg for 8 to 80kg for 8 in a month)

In the end, it's your choice whether you buy my plan, but look at the progress I've made before you make your decision.

If you don't want to get my workout plan, at least read some of my articles where you may learn a couple new things that could help improve your workouts and even boost your progress.

My Workout Plan