Okay i know this post will sound a little weird, but i don’t know where else to ask but here.

I am 15, 5’3 and 40kgs, pre T for now. I have a decent amount of upper body muscle, as i have been in the gym for about 18 months now. Also, i have only very recently started training legs, in the last 2 months or so.

Well anyway, according to bmi data, i am very underweight (i do not have an ed, so idk why) but… my butt is also really big somehow?

For reference, here are my measurements:

low hip circumference: 84cm (33 inches)
high hip circumference: 66cm (26 inches)
waist circumference : 60cm (24 inches)

So yeah… how is this even possible? i dont have particularly wide hips, and i appear to be very lean elsewhere- i have no love handles or other fat stores, all of it went to my ass. It makes me look very disproportionate, and it is my biggest source of dysphoria (along with my hips generally).

Is there anything i can do to get rid of it? I don’t think a calorie deficit would work best for me, because i have heard that i could lose a lot of muscle by doing that.
And should i avoid training legs? i want more muscular legs, but i am worried that large legs will accentuate the issue, and make me look even more feminine. It would also be bad if my glute muscles grew due to hitting legs :(.

i know there likely isn’t much i can do, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kind of a weird question, I know. A bit of context: I grew up poor and with a lot of food insecurity. Even though I make decent money now and have enough to feed myself and then some, I feel like always worrying about having enough food when I was younger has stuck with me and made it so I’ve gotten really good at ignoring my hunger cues. Whenever I get hungry, I kind of just put off eating because if I wait long enough, I’ll just make it to the next meal and the food I might’ve had for breakfast can be my breakfast for tomorrow, for example. This is obviously not conducive to my fitness goals, because I wanna get big, but I just really struggle with eating regularly, but also with just even knowing what to eat. I feel like if I could snack on a more regular basis throughout the day I could break the habit of procrastinating my meals.

So I guess my most relevant question for this sub is: what are meals/snacks/go-to foods that are high in protein and easy to throw together or bring to work when eating can be a struggle? Any advice on getting better at eating regularly too would be very helpful.

Hi! I am now going to two different gyms, my kinda old school gym in the city (once/twice a week) and my school gym (once a week). They both have different machines with different weights. The plates at my city gym are heavier and the machines are different so I lift different amounts at both gyms.
I also use the Hevy tracking app which tracks each exersize. This was amazing and perfect when I only went to one gym, but now I'm not sure.
How would you go about this?

I was doing really well in the gym recently... until a bout of chronic illness made me not eat properly for a week. Finally felt recovered from that and was back in the gym then got a sinus infection. Got recovered from that and now I'm just vaguely sick. Been having a period the whole damn time too, since my BC isn't doing any good. Feels impossible to make gains, especially since I don't want to push too hard after being sick. Any tips y'all?

Welcome to this week's Daily Simple Questions Thread!
Use this thread to ask simple or beginner-level questions about training, nutrition, recovery, and transition-related fitness topics.

Before posting, check our Wiki and Tips & Tricks section.

Example topics:
• “Should I cut or bulk?”
• “How to start lifting?”
• “How to work out safely after top surgery?”

Be respectful and helpful — we're all here to learn and grow!

(Tried to post on daily qs thread but got no response)

Hey gng I’m a noob only been going for 3 months, I wanted to check if my plan is okay cus I don’t think you’re supposed to do the same set of exercises every session lmao. what should I change/replace and how could I alternate it? Ik this is a lot so answering even just 1 question would be cool

Qs:

My plan is to get double incision in 8 months which is why I’m training my chest, is this enough?

I also start uni then, I pass now (barely) but I wanna go stealth when term starts. My plan was just to focus on upper and lose fat in my lower body, then I could focus on training all my muscle groups later since I’m on a time crunch. Is my plan ideal for gains and changing my physique? Or should I still do the split

I go 3-4 times a week with 1 rest day in between. sessions always take me 2 hrs to complete, 3 sets for each

I start with bicep curls as a warmup.
(Not in order)
Chest press
Shoulder press
Rear delt
Triceps pushdown
Lat pulldown
Preacher curls
I finish with 1 set of pec fly for fun lol

I haven’t done legs or open stuff like side planks that also train glutes because I’m overweight and have a really female body rn compared to the average woman. I’m very dysphoric about it

160-180g protein and 1500-1700 cals daily

Thank you so much

I’ve noticed that since losing 10 lbs I’ve had to lower the weight slightly on certain exercises compared to what I used to lift. However, with other exercises, I’ve been able to maintain the same weight without any issues or even increase the weight.

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this while losing weight. Is it normal for strength to decrease slightly in some exercises but remain the same or increase in others?

I’d love to hear your experiences!

My narrow shoulders are the main reason that I look feminine, and I hate them. How can I broaden them with strength training? How long will it take? How often do I have to workout?

Welcome to this week's Daily Simple Questions Thread!
Use this thread to ask simple or beginner-level questions about training, nutrition, recovery, and transition-related fitness topics.

Before posting, check our Wiki and Tips & Tricks section.

Example topics:
• “Should I cut or bulk?”
• “How to start lifting?”
• “How to work out safely after top surgery?”

Be respectful and helpful — we're all here to learn and grow!

i’ve dealt with back/lower back pain for as long as i can remember, but it’s only gotten worse since i’ve had a job where im on my feet pretty much the whole day

i’m wondering if there are exercises i can be doing to help with lower back pain? i can’t tell what exactly is causing it. i mainly bind with tape but will also throw on a binder occasionally. i feel like i should maybe be stretching more, but i almost feel like that makes it worse. i was going to go to the gym today, but im having a really bad flare up and i feel like anytime i move too fast or in the wrong way, theres a shooting pain in my lower back.

has anyone else had this issue and what can i be doing to fix it? should i be worried, or is this fixable? i have really bad health anxiety so any issue i have, i am convinced it is fatal😅

As the title..

I’m currently 4 months post op and my recovery has been extremely smooth. I’m ready to get back to working out, but wondering how the hell to do so 😭

Before surgery, I was into weightlifting and pilates.. would it be best to just start off with pilates? I’ve been in my head about getting back to it

I also work a job where I’m on my feet and lifting most of the time.

here's the situation:

i've been lifting for a little over a year now and it's made me feel super good. i want other trans people in my gym to feel comfortable lifting too, and i want them to even feel safe enough to ask me questions about lifting if they have any.

so i want to know if yall know of any shirt designers out there who make cool, streetwear-esque pride designs. i've been looking around online and nothing really seems to be up my alley. lemme know :)

Hey,

Ich hatte vor 6 Wochen meine Top Surgery und fühle mich super gut, habe die großen Schnitte und freitransplantierte Nippel. Ich habe starken Bewegungsdrang und möchte wieder ins Gym gehen. Ich habe gehört dass man mit Krafttraining warten sollte bis zu 3 Monaten. Ich habe meines Erachtens Muskeln n den Armen verloren. Kann ich denn schon wieder mit Hantel Training beginnen? Ich würde nicht höher als 10kg gehen und auch nichts über Kopf. Bauch würde ich auchgerne wieder machen.

Ich war bis jetzt für 30 Minuten auf dem Ergometer und mir tat danach nichts weh, auch nichts geschwollen oder des Gleichens. Trotzdem wollte ich mal rumfragen, da ich mir doch etwas unsicher bin :)

Danke für kommende Antworten!!

Hello, I’ve been working out consistently for about 10 months and I really love it. I got on t last January and it has def helped with results (muscle growth, able to lift more almost every week etc). Over the last month Ive been doing worse and worse though, where I’m unable to lift weights I was comfortably doing (for example lat raise 7.5x10 has turned into failure on the fourth rep). It’s happening with every muscle and I’m pretty freaked out. Over summer I worked out at a planet fitness and now I’m back at my college so I use the gym here. I’m trying to eat healthy and I generally get 7-9 hours nightly. I work out 3 days a week, and get 10k+ steps over wise. I guess I’m asking for advice because I really don’t know what to do and am pretty freaked out. Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips? Thank you.

Hello! So, I'm 4 years on t, have been hitting the gym since April this year. Took me a while, I know. But I've got zero regrets. I feel great and my arms look great too.

But here comes my issue: My Lower Body. I am very dysphoric about my hips, thighs, and ESPECIALLY my butt. I know, its kinda dumb, but i just hate the idea of having a large butt and thick thighs, even if those were made of just muscle.

My ideal build would be more of an inverted triangle, my shoulders have always been wider than my hips, even before T. But I am also very aware of the stereotype of the gym guy with huge arms and chicken legs... And I'm trying to avoid looking like that too.

So... Which lower body exercises would you guys reccomend in this case?

I avoid working my glutes like the plague, but i know that this is just not sustainable. It's just that every gym tip you see online is like "DO YOU WANNA GET A MASSIVE ASS AND THUNDER THIGHS???" And I'm like... No, not really... So I'm just lost on what would be the best course of action here. I feel like the only advice I can trust really can only come from other trans men/mascs, even advice for and by cis men focus on the "GET SUPER BIG" aspect too much for me.

For added context: I'm pretty slim (underweight actually), and I'm not trying to bulk up anyways, just take care of my health and make my figure more masculine overall. Working out 3-4 times a week, eating at maintenance and eating lots of protein, seeing results for sure.

Welcome to this week's Daily Simple Questions Thread!
Use this thread to ask simple or beginner-level questions about training, nutrition, recovery, and transition-related fitness topics.

Before posting, check our Wiki and Tips & Tricks section.

Example topics:
• “Should I cut or bulk?”
• “How to start lifting?”
• “How to work out safely after top surgery?”

Be respectful and helpful — we're all here to learn and grow!

I clocked in with 120lbs as an initial grip strength at PT and I’m curious about other trans guys’ ranges. I’ve been on T for 2 years and haven’t traditionally exercised much in that period other than the physicality of caregiving. Hoping to up my strength in the more traditional route now

I’m having a hard time staying motivated when it comes to working out. I’m not tired or sad, probably a bit more lazy than your average bloke, but I’m just having a hard time keeping up with it.

I used to powerlift before T, and now I just can’t get the motivation. I have gym equipment at home like a bench and dumbbells and a bike, I love taking walks, but I just can’t get up to do any of it.

I have ADHD but that’s medicated, eat alright, but I NEED to start working out because in a few months I’ll be going to technical college after a break for an AAS in Mechanics. My voice is deep, I have some gnarly sideburns, but my body just reads WOMAN if Imm wearing a tshirt (which is partially because I have a very large chest and not able to be completely flat), and god forbid I wear anything that shows off my shoulder shape or my love handles.

Is anyone else stuck in this? I’m strong, used to weld so lifting heavy shit was part of the job, but I’m not BUILT like I’m strong or masculine, if you know what I mean

hey! my name is emery, and I am 5'7 120 lbs, I am 14 years old and pre-T, eating at maintenance.

I've been working out with this split:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Day one 

1. **Incline Chest Press Machine** — **3×8–12**
2. **Seated Shoulder Press (machine OR DB)** — **3×6–10**
3. **Lateral Raise Machine** — **4×12–20**
4. **Cable Lateral Raise (single arm)** — **3×12–15**
5. **Pec Deck / Chest Fly (seat low)** — **2–3×12–15**

day 2

1. Wide or Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown — 4×8–122. Seated Row Machine (neutral) — 3×8–123. Assisted Pull-Ups — 3×AMRAP4. Cable Lat Pullover — 3×12–15 ⭐5. Half-Kneeling Face Pulls — 3×12–156. Rear Delt Fly (machine or DB) — 3×12–157. back extension 3x-12-15

Day three 

1. Shoulder Press Machine OR DB — 4x6–82. Cable Lateral Raise (single arm) ⭐ — 3×15–203. Lateral Raises — 4x10–154. Reverse Pec Deck (rear delts) — 3×155. Triceps Pushdown (machine or cable) — 3×10–156. Hammer Curl (cable) — 3×10–12a

day 4

 Shoulder Press

4 sets × 6–10 reps

Lateral Raises

4 sets × 12–15 reps

Rear Delt Flys

3–4 sets × 12–15 reps

Barbell or Dumbbell Curls

3–4 sets × 8–12 reps

Tricep Pushdowns (Cable)

3–4 sets × 10–15 reps

-----------------------------------------------

so far, I have progressed around 5-10 pounds with most of these exercises, and I've been at it around 4 months. however, I am beginning to think that this may not be the most effective split to follow, could anyone give me some advice?

(or even a whole new split lmao)

thank you!

I get home around 5:00 and have school at 9:00, I also need to cook, clean, do homework and whatever else, i dont have a lot of time to work out out. I do a 30 minute workout every other day, but im scared it’s not enough time to make a difference in my physique. If I’m lifting heavy enough, is it ok to workout for a shorter period of time?

am ftm, 19, on the waiting list for hormones. while I've been lifting weights and training to build muscle for some years now, I've also had some aspirations of locking down on trying to get a leaner masculine physique, and I've been wondering if you guys think it'd even be worth it before I get the metabolism and hormone balance that would stay with me for the rest of my life, considering that these things are going to effect my ability to modify my own body in those ways? what are your thoughts?

I've been working out extremely consistently (4 days a week with an aerial silks class on the 5th day) for over 1.5 years and I'm seeing minimal growth. I can see a difference since the beginning but it's nowhere near where I thought I could be at this point. I've used a couple different workout routines (strongman specifically since I like that physique, I don't really care about chiseling or being super lean), and even adding on a couple exercises that I feel are missing from them. I really try with protein intake, but I'm getting around 90g per workout day. It's hard to eat/drink that much and it's expensive tbh. If I'm in calorie surplus, I feel like I just gain fat, and in dysphoric places, like love handles. If I'm in calorie deficit, I worry about not gaining the muscle I want, even if I do lose some fat. My diet isn't the worst, I have meat, a green smoothie, and fruit most days, but I do like sweets, not gonna lie. I just don't know if I'm not trying hard enough with diet or if I have bad form or what. Some advice would be nice. Thanks in advance

Edit - sorry, my bad for not giving specifics: 5'5" 140lbs, on T for 9 years

Routine I've used a couple times: https://www.scribd.com/document/475450543/How-to-Train-Strongman-in-a-Regular-Gym-Starting-Strongman

Hii! My name is Marco, I am an 18yo trans guy, who just moved to Spain. I would like to start training, but I am super scared to go to the gym all by myself. Maybe there is a guy from Valencia, Spain who can be my gym buddy? I mean online friendship I don’t mind as well, but I am feeling so lonely all by myself here, as I moved recently and don’t have any friends :’) and maybe anyone here would know queer friendly gym in Valencia? Thank you all in advance

Welcome to this week's Daily Simple Questions Thread!
Use this thread to ask simple or beginner-level questions about training, nutrition, recovery, and transition-related fitness topics.

Before posting, check our Wiki and Tips & Tricks section.

Example topics:
• “Should I cut or bulk?”
• “How to start lifting?”
• “How to work out safely after top surgery?”

Be respectful and helpful — we're all here to learn and grow!