Gymmaxxing + Leanmaxxing Transformation

[copingvolcel]

I'm returning after around 2 years and a half of absence to share with you my progress pics and to show the impact that body fat percentage has on the face.

Many on here have talked about the benefits of leanmaxxing but few manage to actually prove it, I have progress pics to show the difference it makes. It won't give you a jawline if you've never had one but it will make you look your best.

Leanmaxxing Transformation:


Bodybuilding (gymmaxxing) Transformation:


As some of you might know, when I last showed progress pics, there was not much progress on them. That's because from 2016 to 2021, I was wasting my time with strength training programs because this was promoted at the time and still is today on every subreddit from r/Fitness to r/naturalbodybuilding. People really think that focusing on the big 3 (squat, bench, deadlift) with 5x5 linear progression and forced deloads will make them big. Truth is, it might work for a complete beginner but there comes a point where you either increase the volume to 3-4 sets of 6-10 or 8-12 reps twice a week per exercise or you make no progress.

My arms have been growing very well from additional volume. Most strength training programs make you do 3 sets twice a week (total 6 weekly sets), I do 5 sets 3 times per week for triceps and biceps each (total 15 weekly sets for each), this has been the most optimal for me so far, when I get bigger, I'll probably need to increase to 20 and eventually 25 weekly sets to keep growing to and past 18 inches. My arms are currently only at 12.9 inches, but they used to be 13.5 inches when I was at 205 lbs, I'm now leanmaxxed so it looks a lot better than a 13.5 inch fat arm.


For nutrition, I'd say the biggest mistake most people make is they either don't bulk at all, or they overbulk with a super high surplus that they just don't need, this results in excessive fat gain and not much muscle growth. The truth is, muscle growth is very slow, you might gain 2 lbs of muscle per month, so a 10% caloric surplus is really all you need. And TDEE calculators should be set to sedentary, even if you lift weights, and then simply add 150-200 calories per workout day to account for calories burned. When I got to 205 lbs, I was consuming 3500 calories, because that's what I was being told to do. Now I'm consuming only 2600 calories daily and I'm still making progress and without getting fat.

A lean bulk of 2 lbs per month can allow you to do it for 1-2 years before having to cut, and if you train properly, more than half of it will be muscle. This does require consistency and not reverting back to a cut when you see your abs disappear. The goal is to build as much muscle as possible as you get close to 20% body fat, and then cut down to 10% to stay healthy. Don't bulk for 5 months at a rate that requires you to cut for another 5 months. Instead, slowly bulk for 1 year and a half or 2 years, and then cut for 3 months. That's how people get big naturally.

As for getting lean, here is a little secret not many people know about: Measure your waist size. If it's 43-44% of your height, you're lean, and if it's 50% or above, then you're fat and absolutely need to cut. If you're in between, simply cut down to 43-44% before bulking, this will allow you to bulk for longer and it will motivate you and you'll actually see the muscle being built. Making gains at 20% by recomping is also possible but it means you'll look terrible the entire time so I don't recommend it.

If you're wondering why there's not much progress between 2023 and 2024, it's because I had stopped lifting as I got back to college and lost sight of my looksmaxxing goals for the first time in my life. On the bright side, this did allow me to lose a lot of fat and get very lean without really trying which makes it easier to build muscle, because I know I don't have to get fat to do it. Gymmaxxing should never be taken to the point of getting fat like I did. I hope some people can learn from this post and not repeat the mistakes I did (overbulking, training like a powerlifter, and neglecting arms).

 

[CoreSchizo]

What's up with your eye bro?

 

[PsychoDsk]

almost 0 muscles gained and 0 fat lost. I'm sorry buddy but it's over, genes are truly an unfair game

 

[WhoTookVendetta]

I'm returning after around 2 years and a half of absence to share with you my progress pics and to show the impact that body fat percentage has on the face.

Many on here have talked about the benefits of leanmaxxing but few manage to actually prove it, I have progress pics to show the difference it makes. It won't give you a jawline if you've never had one but it will make you look your best.

Leanmaxxing Transformation:


Bodybuilding (gymmaxxing) Transformation:


As some of you might know, when I last showed progress pics, there was not much progress on them. That's because from 2016 to 2021, I was wasting my time with strength training programs because this was promoted at the time and still is today on every subreddit from r/Fitness to r/naturalbodybuilding. People really think that focusing on the big 3 (squat, bench, deadlift) with 5x5 linear progression and forced deloads will make them big. Truth is, it might work for a complete beginner but there comes a point where you either increase the volume to 3-4 sets of 6-10 or 8-12 reps twice a week per exercise or you make no progress.

My arms have been growing very well from additional volume. Most strength training programs make you do 3 sets twice a week (total 6 weekly sets), I do 5 sets 3 times per week for triceps and biceps each (total 15 weekly sets for each), this has been the most optimal for me so far, when I get bigger, I'll probably need to increase to 20 and eventually 25 weekly sets to keep growing to and past 18 inches. My arms are currently only at 12.9 inches, but they used to be 13.5 inches when I was at 205 lbs, I'm now leanmaxxed so it looks a lot better than a 13.5 inch fat arm.


For nutrition, I'd say the biggest mistake most people make is they either don't bulk at all, or they overbulk with a super high surplus that they just don't need, this results in excessive fat gain and not much muscle growth. The truth is, muscle growth is very slow, you might gain 2 lbs of muscle per month, so a 10% caloric surplus is really all you need. And TDEE calculators should be set to sedentary, even if you lift weights, and then simply add 150-200 calories per workout day to account for calories burned. When I got to 205 lbs, I was consuming 3500 calories, because that's what I was being told to do. Now I'm consuming only 2600 calories daily and I'm still making progress and without getting fat.

A lean bulk of 2 lbs per month can allow you to do it for 1-2 years before having to cut, and if you train properly, more than half of it will be muscle. This does require consistency and not reverting back to a cut when you see your abs disappear. The goal is to build as much muscle as possible as you get close to 20% body fat, and then cut down to 10% to stay healthy. Don't bulk for 5 months at a rate that requires you to cut for another 5 months. Instead, slowly bulk for 1 year and a half or 2 years, and then cut for 3 months. That's how people get big naturally.

As for getting lean, here is a little secret not many people know about: Measure your waist size. If it's 43-44% of your height, you're lean, and if it's 50% or above, then you're fat and absolutely need to cut. If you're in between, simply cut down to 43-44% before bulking, this will allow you to bulk for longer and it will motivate you and you'll actually see the muscle being built. Making gains at 20% by recomping is also possible but it means you'll look terrible the entire time so I don't recommend it.

If you're wondering why there's not much progress between 2023 and 2024, it's because I had stopped lifting as I got back to college and lost sight of my looksmaxxing goals for the first time in my life. On the bright side, this did allow me to lose a lot of fat and get very lean without really trying which makes it easier to build muscle, because I know I don't have to get fat to do it. Gymmaxxing should never be taken to the point of getting fat like I did. I hope some people can learn from this post and not repeat the mistakes I did (overbulking, training like a powerlifter, and neglecting arms).

looking good man

 

[ronald_2]

Its so satisfying when you see a before after comparison with the exact same lighting, pose, and location. Good job.

 

[Xangsane]

jova

 

[copingvolcel]

What's up with your eye bro?

There's a reason I didn't use the rating category. Truth is, I know my flaws, this thread is mainly to show an aspect that anyone can improve upon. Will it make you into a supermodel? Definitely not. But you will look above average, or as former user larsanova used to say "you will mog your past self"

 

[copingvolcel]

almost 0 muscles gained and 0 fat lost. I'm sorry buddy but it's over, genes are truly an unfair game

I'm tracking measurements, mainly arms and waist. Arm measurement is steadily increasing while waist isn't going up, this means I'm gaining muscle mass in my arms. Currently 12.9 inch arms lean, aiming for 18 inches and above. I gained 0.9 inches in the past 3 weeks due to muscle memory. My arms were 11 inches in the first picture.

 

[PsychoDsk]

I'm tracking measurements, mainly arms and waist. Arm measurement is steadily increasing while waist isn't going up, this means I'm gaining muscle mass in my arms. Currently 12.9 inch arms lean, aiming for 18 inches and above. I gained 0.9 inches in the past 3 weeks due to muscle memory. My arms were 11 inches in the first picture.

not hating tho, you've made good progress but as you yourself mentioned above it ain't supermodel material. You do mog your old self so I'm proud of u

 

[sayi]

This is your 2.5 years progress?

 

[copingvolcel]

This is your 2.5 years progress?

Not exactly 2.5 years, more like 2-3 bulks that each lasted 4 months, and then a cut where I wasn't lifting, but now with muscle memory, it's all coming back really fast and without any added fat. I've added 10 lbs of muscle just in the past 3 weeks with no fat whatsoever.

If you were to bulk slowly for 1 year and a half to 2 years (not 4 months at a time), you'd see more progress, and faster. The thing is I would overbulk, because I was obsessed with getting bigger, even though I was gaining a lot of fat in the process.

 

[sayi]

Not exactly 2.5 years, more like 2-3 bulks that each lasted 4 months, and then a cut where I wasn't lifting, but now with muscle memory, it's all coming back really fast and without any added fat. I've added 10 lbs of muscle just in the past 3 weeks with no fat whatsoever.

If you were to bulk slowly for 1 year and a half to 2 years (not 4 months at a time), you'd see more progress, and faster. The thing is I would overbulk, because I was obsessed with getting bigger, even though I was gaining a lot of fat in the process.

Even assuming you dirty bulked, your results are pretty bad, check your t levels

 

[copingvolcel]

Even assuming you dirty bulked, your results are pretty bad, check your t levels

This is only because your main reference point is guys who are on drugs and lying about it. If you look at guys like Natural Hypertrophy or Geoffrey Verity Schofield or Basement Bodybuilding, you can see that muscle gain is simply a matter of consistency and patience. Nobody gets jacked overnight as a natural, you might gain 2 lbs of muscle per month, and over the course of 1 year, that translates to 20 lbs of muscle gained. The year after that, you might gain 12-15 lbs of muscle, the year after that maybe 6-8 lbs of muscle, and the year after that 4-6 lbs, and the year after that 2-4 lbs. Overall, it's a matter of diminishing returns and it takes years to get to the elite level, years of consistent bulking, and that is not counting the time spent cutting.

This 10 year transformation could have been done in 5-6 years instead but not in 1 year:

 

[Andremln]

You probably have really shit fat storage genetics but i see room for improvement, could probably keep debloating with some other methods bud, im like 25% bf and im not capping my face looks as lean as yours at whatever your fat percentage is right now.

I've heard that drinking hella water and a low sodium and carb diet should in theory debloat you but i haven't tried myself, also high potassium so start eating bananas i guess

 

[Andremln]

Althought you overall improved a fucking lot bro congrats but im sure you just need to do a few more things and you will get the full leanmaxx effect

You probably have really shit fat storage genetics but i see room for improvement, could probably keep debloating with some other methods bud, im like 25% bf and im not capping my face looks as lean as yours at whatever your fat percentage is right now.

I've heard that drinking hella water and a low sodium and carb diet should in theory debloat you but i haven't tried myself, also high potassium so start eating bananas i guess

 

[copingvolcel]

You probably have really shit fat storage genetics but i see room for improvement, could probably keep debloating with some other methods bud, im like 25% bf and im not capping my face looks as lean as yours at whatever your fat percentage is right now.

I've heard that drinking hella water and a low sodium and carb diet should in theory debloat you but i haven't tried myself, also high potassium so start eating bananas i guess

My face also looks lean, it all depends on the lighting used. In the bathroom, if I'm staring directly at the mirror, I have hollow cheeks without flexing, and my face was like that even at higher body fat. Angles and lighting have a huge impact on how you look in photos.

That's why now I rely mainly on waist measurement. When I was underweight, my waist was like 31-32 inches, now it's 33 inches at a much higher bodyweight. That is a good indicator of muscle growth and leanness. You can't just rely on the mirror, you have to actually take measurements.

 

[Dodevu]

Pointless posting a natural transformation on here… The NPCs here are too used to seeing @Orc’s nAtUrAL physique and all the 16 year old SARM goblins.

Best to take this to Reddit.

 

[Struggler03]

You have alot of stored fat in your stomach area, you need to go on a really harsh cut before lean bulking, tracking calories is important to keep your results consisten

 

[KaisenMaxxer]

Weekly Volume:

Triceps: 15 sets
Biceps: 15 sets
Forearms: 7 sets
Chest: 6 sets
Front Delts: 6 sets
Side Delts: 6 sets
Lats: 6 sets
Quads: 6 sets
Hamstrings: 6 sets
Glutes: 6 sets
Abs: 6 sets
Neck: 6 sets

that's absolute shit volume for anything except arms, do twice that amount except for said arms

 

[KaisenMaxxer]

As some of you might know, when I last showed progress pics, there was not much progress on them. That's because from 2016 to 2021, I was wasting my time with strength training programs because this was promoted at the time and still is today on every subreddit from r/Fitness to r/naturalbodybuilding. People really think that focusing on the big 3 (squat, bench, deadlift) with 5x5 linear progression and forced deloads will make them big. Truth is, it might work for a complete beginner but there comes a point where you either increase the volume to 3-4 sets of 6-10 or 8-12 reps twice a week per exercise or you make no progress.

JFL with your pic of 2022 you can't tell me you spent 5 years strength training or you forgot the main part : to EAT

You shouldn't replace strength work for "hypertrophy" work when you stop progressing, you should add hypertrophy on top of strength.

Anyway its over for you

 

[copingvolcel]

JFL with your pic of 2022 you can't tell me you spent 5 years strength training or you forgot the main part : to EAT

You shouldn't replace strength work for "hypertrophy" work when you stop progressing, you should add hypertrophy on top of strength.

Not 5 years, more like a few months on and off. But 5 months of hypertrophy work did more for my physique than 6 months of strength training.

Sure you can do both but suck at both. I'd rather just train for size and be great at it than be a master of none.
Growing my arms has been more effective at making me look big than growing my legs. I still train legs, and have great genetics for them but nobody really cares when I'm walking around, no girl is going to go "wow you have great quads" or "look at those striations, wow", no, they're going to look at your shoulder to waist ratio, your chest, your arms, and your neck, and also your abs. If those areas are lacking, you can have the highest strength numbers and nobody will really care except for other strength copers.

 

[copingvolcel]

that's absolute shit volume for anything except arms, do twice that amount except for said arms

My arms are by far my biggest weakness genetically because they remained at 12 inches even as my strength on the bench press was increasing. Went from a 70 lb bench press to 135 lbs for 5 reps, and they never grew. Don't think for a second a 2 plate bench will give you 16 inches.

My arms started growing from direct work, with at least 10 weekly sets, that's when I saw 1/8 of an inch of growth every week. When I got to 13.5 inches, I had to cut because I had gotten too fat, now I'm almost at the same arm size but lean.

This guy trained his arms up to 18 inches and he's only like 5'10", he did that through direct work. And he said himself, the taller you are, the bigger your arms can be, he is now aiming for 20 inches, and he said a 6'2" guy could easily get 20 inches with direct work (I'm 6'4")

 

[copingvolcel]

You have alot of stored fat in your stomach area, you need to go on a really harsh cut before lean bulking, tracking calories is important to keep your results consisten

No, my fat storage genetics (as someone else pointed out) make me store it there mostly.

Ab visibility is not a valid indicator of body fat percentage. Mine are small because I never trained them directly, because people kept saying abs are made in the kitchen. The truth is they're a muscle like any other but they're the smallest muscle group, and are not even visible when wearing a shirt, that's why I never trained them. I added sit-ups in my program though and will progressively overload them with a plate behind my head to grow thicker abs to look better shirtless.

I'm 10% body fat, I know because when my waist was 1-2 inches smaller, I was underweight.

 

[Struggler03]

No, my fat storage genetics (as someone else pointed out) make me store it there mostly.

Ab visibility is not a valid indicator of body fat percentage. Mine are small because I never trained them directly, because people kept saying abs are made in the kitchen. The truth is they're a muscle like any other but they're the smallest muscle group, and are not even visible when wearing a shirt, that's why I never trained them. I added sit-ups in my program though and will progressively overload them with a plate behind my head to grow thicker abs to look better shirtless.

I'm 10% body fat, I know because when my waist was 1-2 inches smaller, I was underweight.

Dont train waist, it will get rid of v taper look, but other then that you should be able to get even better physique in 2-3 years if you keep up the consistent training

 

[appealmaxed]

nothing change, face changes from body fat loss dont really happen until 15%.

 

[copingvolcel]

Dont train waist, it will get rid of v taper look, but other then that you should be able to get even better physique in 2-3 years if you keep up the consistent training

Training abs is the only way to get them to show with bad ab genetics. And it doesn't do anything aside from making the abs visible

 

[copingvolcel]

nothing change, face changes from body fat loss dont really happen until 15%.

The photo where I was very fat at 205 lbs, I was 20%. Currently I'm 10%.

Hollow cheeks show when I'm in bathroom lighting, not when out in the sun.

Also, looking muscular at 6'4" is difficult, this is Jared Padalecki who is also 6'4" but around 220 lbs lean, and he doesn't even look huge:

The shorter you are, the easier it is to look big. But when you put a short guy next to a tall guy, the tall guy will always look bigger by comparison if they're both at around the same FFMI (training level).

 

[appealmaxed]

The photo where I was very fat at 205 lbs, I was 20%. Currently I'm 10%.

Hollow cheeks show when I'm in bathroom lighting, not when out in the sun.

Also, looking muscular at 6'4" is difficult, this is Jared Padalecki who is also 6'4" but around 220 lbs lean, and he doesn't even look huge:
View attachment 3110481View attachment 3110483

The shorter you are, the easier it is to look big. But when you put a short guy next to a tall guy, the tall guy will always look bigger by comparison if they're both at around the same FFMI (training level).

everyone overestimates bf as well. unless u got veins running up ur abdomen, ur not truly 10%, which shoudld be life fuel for u since it means u can actually get face gains potentially, if u continue to lean out

 

[copingvolcel]

everyone overestimates bf as well. unless u got veins running up ur abdomen, ur not truly 10%, which shoudld be life fuel for u since it means u can actually get face gains potentially, if u continue to lean out

Except I do have veins in my arms, forearms and hands. When I workout, they show even more and I get really veiny like a roided bodybuilder because I have no fat there whatsoever.

Fat storage genetics differ from person to person. Mine is mostly in the stomach.

 

[appealmaxed]

Except I do have veins in my arms, forearms and hands.

i have this at 20%+ bf, diesnt mean anything regarding bf level

When I workout, they show even more and I get really veiny like a roided bodybuilder because I have no fat there whatsoever.

obviously

Fat storage genetics differ from person to person. Mine is mostly in the stomach.

yes but when very lean, there is less of a disparity between fat distribution between individuals

so unless u got ab veins ur not 10%, its a good thing, contunue lean max

 

[copingvolcel]

i have this at 20%+ bf, diesnt mean anything regarding bf level

obviously


yes but when very lean, there is less of a disparity between fat distribution between individuals

so unless u got ab veins ur not 10%, its a good thing, contunue lean max

Waist size is the only reliable way of measuring body fat percentage. Used to be 38 inches at 205 lbs, now at 33 inches at 176 lbs.

Goal is to get to 210 lbs without surpassing 36 inches, then cut back down to 33 inches, and repeat until I'm 230 lbs with a 33 inch waist.

 

[appealmaxed]

Waist size is the only reliable way of measuring body fat percentage. Used to be 38 inches at 205 lbs, now at 33 inches at 176 lbs.

there is no reliable way. just use ur eyes

 

[copingvolcel]

there is no reliable way. just use ur eyes

Laughable that you'd think eyes are a more reliable way to measure than an actual measurement.

 

[appealmaxed]

Laughable that you'd think eyes are a more reliable way to measure than an actual measurement.

jfl at thinking ur 10% with face like that

 

[copingvolcel]

jfl at thinking ur 10% with face like that

jfl at you not knowing the basics of photography or how camera lenses, lighting and angles can change the way a face looks.

 

[appealmaxed]

jfl at you not knowing the basics of photography or how camera lenses, lighting and angles can change the way a face looks.

ur camera doesn’t make i fat.
u can very easily tell who if lean or who isn’t from a face photo
since there is no diff in yours your still high bf

 

[Saint Casanova]

I'm tracking measurements, mainly arms and waist. Arm measurement is steadily increasing while waist isn't going up, this means I'm gaining muscle mass in my arms. Currently 12.9 inch arms lean, aiming for 18 inches and above. I gained 0.9 inches in the past 3 weeks due to muscle memory. My arms were 11 inches in the first picture.

18 inches won’t be possible for you naturally. Most likely not even possible with gear.

 

[copingvolcel]

ur camera doesn’t make i fat.
u can very easily tell who if lean or who isn’t from a face photo
since there is no diff in yours your still high bf

Delusional

 

[copingvolcel]

18 inches won’t be possible for you naturally. Most likely not even possible with gear.

 

[Saint Casanova]

Posting some random person doesn’t mean anything. He might not be natty and has different genetics to you.

Something like this is more realistic for you. 16 inches is more than enough for female attraction anyways.

 

[Saint Casanova]

He’s also not lean at all. 18 inch arms naturally lean is 99.99th percentile

 

[sayi]

This is only because your main reference point is guys who are on drugs and lying about it. If you look at guys like Natural Hypertrophy or Geoffrey Verity Schofield or Basement Bodybuilding, you can see that muscle gain is simply a matter of consistency and patience. Nobody gets jacked overnight as a natural, you might gain 2 lbs of muscle per month, and over the course of 1 year, that translates to 20 lbs of muscle gained. The year after that, you might gain 12-15 lbs of muscle, the year after that maybe 6-8 lbs of muscle, and the year after that 4-6 lbs, and the year after that 2-4 lbs. Overall, it's a matter of diminishing returns and it takes years to get to the elite level, years of consistent bulking, and that is not counting the time spent cutting.

This 10 year transformation could have been done in 5-6 years instead but not in 1 year:

2 years are pretty enough to achieve like 70% of our genetic potential, I am taking natural athletes as reference, just accept that your genetics are bad. Take roids now

 

[copingvolcel]

2 years are pretty enough to achieve like 70% of our genetic potential, I am taking natural athletes as reference, just accept that your genetics are bad. Take roids now

2 years is nothing for a natural lifter.

This is from Lyle Macdonald and has been used as a reliable source of muscular potential for the past 10 years:

It accounts for bulks only, not cuts. The average lifter tends to bulk for a period of 4-6 months, and cuts 3-4 months. This means 2 years of bulking would take 14-16 months of cutting, that is a total of 38-40 months (3.16-3.33 years) to gain that 30-37 lbs of muscle, since you cannot gain muscle efficiently in a deficit or at maintenance. And this is assuming you're doing everything right, and it does not account for time where you're sick and can't lift, or time spent wasted on a strength training program like stronglifts.

Of course, you can speed up the process by bulking slower, which allows you to cut for less time. If you slow bulk, you can do so for a year and a half or 2 years before cutting.

Another thing also, that chart takes into account that you're 5'9" or below, it is not for the tall people. A tall guy who starts skinny can gain 20 lbs of muscle per year until he gets to a 21-22 FFMI, then gains will slow down.

And, I have never bulked for 2 years straight, the most I ever did was 5 months at a time, 3-4 times, and half of that time was wasted with strength training. I've only started bodybuilding effectively in 2022 and 2023, and for most of those years I was not even lifting, hence the lack of progress. And I still got some pretty good results from that laziness. Consistency is the one thing I struggled with because I'd lose motivation, now I just enjoy the process, I don't care if it takes me until I'm 28 or 29 or even 30, because I know it's still better than staying skinny.

 

[copingvolcel]

Muscle growth as a natural is a game of patience. If you can be consistent with your training and not change much about it, and just do your workouts, train hard, and recover by eating and sleeping enough, you will make great progress over the years. It does not matter how long it takes because the progress will be noticeable early on anyways in measurements and strength numbers.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.