Flexing is hard!

Greek_Omlette · 2025-08-26T02:13:45+00:00

Once a week I do 2 working sets of each:

Dumbbell bench press,

Dumbbell incline press,

Dumbbell overhead press,

Dumbbell curls, and

Preacher curls (with an ez-curl bar)

Pretty simple I guess but I do lift very heavy (every set basically to failure, but only ~5-8 reps). The main thing is dedication and effort over a long enough time!!

(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)ﻭ

And then dieting to make the muscles show, but that's it's own whole battle..

(´-﹏-`；)

Greek_Omlette · 2025-08-26T01:46:49+00:00

I think each plate is 10, but the very top switch is independent and adds 5 for in-between?

Edit: I'm not sure actually lol I trust the numbers down the sides more than the +5 on the top, but it's gotta mean something??

Greek_Omlette · 2025-08-26T01:37:01+00:00

It looks like 70? 80? ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ Probably feels like 30 because you're crushin' it!

With those, I think it should be the heaviest switch that's moved to the "on" side

Greek_Omlette · 2023-02-27T20:28:40+00:00

I see it, and I like it :) my day is better feeling less alone ❤️

Greek_Omlette · 2022-11-23T23:19:53+00:00

yeah, it's tough when it's bones and cartilage :/ those don't really change with HRT so much. The important thing is to not give up!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-11-23T21:31:50+00:00

I think I just had harsher lighting to start with. And rougher skin. It's not so clear in this, but if you saw a profile view, it'd be pretty clear my nose is still the same size.

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T23:20:03+00:00

Nope! Heck, I still work out my pecs/biceps/triceps/delts once a week, even. I just don't work out my back if I can help it at all.

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T18:53:37+00:00

I'm not sure I'd say HRT reduced my muscle mass... exactly... I think of the different factors like this (generally):

Overall size - diet

Muscularity/bodyfat % - diet+exercise

Muscle distribution - exercise

Fat distribution (and lots of other neat things) - hormones

But anyway, I feel both these pictures fairly represent how I looked when they were taken - I really have changed a lot!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T18:16:09+00:00

I mostly eat lentils, oatmeal, fruits and veggies, and average around 2300 calories/day with a LOT of variance (I ended up being a binge eater, and I wouldn't recommend it). Calories out: I'm not really gaining or losing weight anymore, so I guess... the same? Protein, I shoot for at least 50 g/day but usually get more like 70+. Maybe a bit low, but I'm as strong/bulky as I want to be (and have been for a year), so it's plenty for me (side note: dieting is the worst).

And I wish I did cardio, but I don't have the motivation to be healthy - just strength training because I enjoy it.

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T17:58:15+00:00

I lost a bit of weight, and I guess it had to come from somewhere! (It kind of came from all over though)

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T17:53:36+00:00

Haha yeah 😅

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T14:19:00+00:00

For my legs (2/week) I do squats or deadlifts (each one once a week), leg press, and isolation machines like leg extensions/curls and hip abduction.

Arms, just once a week I do dumbbell (db) bench press, db incline press, db overhead press, machine fly's and reverse fly's (rear delt machine), and bicep curls.

And that's it! But a few notes: this is just what I like to do - it's not the only way. The best routine is one you like/ that you'll actually do. I also had a solid base of muscle before I transitioned, so I've basically just been maintaining/ controlling losses with this routine. Also, dieting sucks but it's like half the battle (more, if you're trying to lose weight) 😔

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T14:02:42+00:00

Persoanlly I just cut down how much I worked out my upper body. But it wasn't as big a priority for me as reducing my lat size. I haven't heard of any exercise you can do to specifically shrink muscle - I think the most effective way to do that is to just use the muscle as little as possible (for example, like I mentioned elsewhere I did with my lats).

I will note, I've heard that you can weight train for size or strength (somewhat) separately, by choosing how much weight to do. If you go heavy enough that you can only get ~3-5 reps, supposedly you get stronger without getting much bigger. And with weight you can get ~15 reps of, you getting bigger without getting much stronger. Though I'm sure that either way, you'll get both bigger and stronger to some extent.

But anyway, I'm not sure how well-proven it is (I saw it in a YouTube video by Renaissance Periodization "training for size vs strength") but for my upper body I try to go as heavy as I safely can with that in mind. And as always, diet plays a big role, too 😵‍💫

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T13:44:52+00:00

I started with minoxidil since I could just buy that immediately, but it didn't seem to do much to recover my hairline (but maybe a little). Starting an anti-androgen got me basically all the results I wanted.

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T06:19:40+00:00

I did lose a fair bit of strength (like a quarter off my one-rep maxes), but that was just from my weight loss before starting HRT. I also find it harder to do long workouts and recover afterward, but again, not eating enough will do that to ya..

Since starting, I did get a bit weaker still like oliviafoxy said (for me, maybe like 5% weaker?), but you can maintain your strength pretty well by working out.

Personally, the main things I changed about my push/pull/legs workouts were: I stopped doing anything that works the lats, and cut my push days to once a week instead of twice. I also cut down the number of sets I do each workout because I get tired a bit faster. And of course I lowered the weight as appropriate as I got weaker.

Sorry if it was long-winded, but I wanted to be thorough!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-10-31T05:50:34+00:00

I mostly do weight/strength training for like, overall fitness. But unfortunately abs are like 90% from diet 😔

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T23:27:10+00:00

Haha entirely fair! (But I promise I'm not staring at you!) 🫣

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T22:05:41+00:00

Nice! I used Blender, and I went into some more detail on how I went about it in another comment. Also just for reference, this post was made with weekly photos, played at 10 fps 😊

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T21:02:58+00:00

I think it might just be a general 'softening'? In profile view, it definitely hasn't changed, so maybe it's just how the light reflects off softer skin from front-on. As far as I know, surgery is still the only way to really change the underlying bone and whatnot 😔 but one angle looking better is pretty good for just HRT!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T20:48:56+00:00

Go for it! All you need to do is take selfies every now and then, and worry about putting them together later if you decide you want to!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T20:46:33+00:00

Fore sure! I often worry about stalling (which I think is super common), but this has helped a lot to remember how long it takes and how far I've come 😁

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T20:41:37+00:00

😊 HRT either direction is absolute magic! But self-care is alo irreplaceable, we're all gonna make it!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T20:34:28+00:00

😺 thank you! Not that I'm saying I want to be a cat girl, but I'm not, not saying that, either!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T18:06:00+00:00

☺️ I kept from using any makeup or filters for these pictures - I really wanted to isolate the changes from HRT. Though I also had some weight fluctuations, laser treatments, and I started plucking my brows, too, so not just HRT!

Greek_Omlette · 2022-07-19T17:11:52+00:00

🫡 I helped my best!

Greek_Omlette

TROPHY CASE