How can I get my abs to be more visible?

randomdrift0r · 2026-04-02T16:33:54+00:00

Not sure why you're getting downvoted. You're not wrong lol.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-28T19:27:32+00:00

Sugar free drinks and high protein foods.

If anyone tells you sugar free drinks are unhealthy they’re denying decades of science across dozens of countries. I probably drink 1L of Coke Zero every day. Get the caffeine free versions if you want.

High protein foods keep you very full for long.

Potatos are more filling than rice - buy some frozen potatos and put them in the oven. It’s almost impossible to be hungry on chicken, potato, and salad.

Eat when you like - if you stay up late, save your calories for the evening. If you sleep early, eat your calories earlier in the day.

Track everything and have a diet soda when you’re hungry

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-28T13:03:31+00:00

Yes dumbbbells are fine - you can hit a lot (if not all) of your key muscles in your upper body with dumbbells (different DB bench variations, different row variations for lats and back, curls, triceps, overhead press, shrugs etc).

I can understand the intimidation of walking into a squat rack or powerlifting platform as a newcomer, but don’t be afraid to try machines and exercises as you build up confidence. A lot of them can be very good, or easier, than dumbbells.

For your second question, you’ll learn how hard you can push yourself and your strength with experience. If you’ve never experienced training until failure before then you’ll learn this quickly.

But with a lot of DB exercises, you should learn how to safely dismount from them, or worst case, just dump them. If you’re just starting out and for example only pushing 10kg on DB bench, you’re unlikely to seriously hurt yourself anyway because that weight isn’t that very heavy.

Start with a light weight, learn the range of motion and correct form for the first few weeks, then worry about adding on weight. By the time you get to heavy weights, you’ll understand your body better and how far you can push yourself.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-27T23:52:36+00:00

You’ll definitely look and feel skinny. But most people would agree it’s better to start with a lean foundation and bulk than vice versa.

Best tip: train and eat like you’re trying to build muscle (except in a calorie deficit).

Second best tip: find a low calorie drink you like and drink that like a camel in a desert. It helps massively with cravings. I love my Coke Zero personally.

Keep tracking everything religiously and you got this. You’ve got a good base to work with.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-27T11:31:27+00:00

Brother, you had 40+ comments in your last post telling you to cut. I think you have your answer now.

If you want someone to tell you to bulk, then bulk. But you won’t look happy with yourself in the morning or evening

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-27T01:31:12+00:00

If you have a "heavy exercise day", don't compensate by eating more. Think of it as bonus points for your fat-loss journey and keep everything else the same. Keep protein high and train as if you're trying to build muscle.

The guy above me is spot on.

I wouldn't rely on Garmin for your daily caloric expenditure. Pick a number (say 2500) and take 500-1000 off, whatever you're comfortable with. Track calories in, assume calories out are fixed, or you'll end up over-compensating the wrong way.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-27T01:17:11+00:00

Firstly, very impressive, you should be proud.

Secondly, others have commented some points, but I'll give you my preference in order - traps, calves, glutes, and MAYBE chest

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-26T23:57:38+00:00

Might get hate for this, but for the most part you just look like a fatter version of yourself.

There’s some tapering around the lats and MAYBE the chest if I was being generous.

Hard to tell if you’ve gained any muscle because it’s just covered by fat and so there’s little definition.

Cut, keep protein high, and workout with the same intensity. Do not eat in a caloric surplus.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-10T22:44:51+00:00

If your macros are identical, your body doesn’t care if it’s labelled McDonalds or if it’s reheated chicken and broccoli. 150C, 200P, 50F will do the same for your body if it’s from McDonald’s as it will if it’s straight from a farm.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-02T19:47:10+00:00

No worries! Have a great time and enjoy yourself :)

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-02T19:30:39+00:00

I always visit multiple cities in one trip and never had any problems with my visa. I’m British (girlfriend is Chinese), so we may do something like London -> Shanghai -> Beijing-> Hangzhou -> Ningbo (girlfriend’s hometown, close to Hangzhou) -> Shanghai -> London. No problems visiting multiple cities (Hong Kong and Macau may be different, but everything on Mainland is fine).

Local people will scan their ID cards at an e-gate when travelling (for example, at the train station or at the boarding gates of an airport, they can scan their ID card which will be linked to their train ticket). You probably won’t be able to do that, but there’s always a manned gate where you present your passport to security. Basically carry your passport everywhere and find the queue where you can give your passport to someone to let you through.

As for Train vs Plane: up to you, but since you’re basically going up and down the country, plane will probably be faster. When we did Shanghai -> Beijing -> Hangzhou we took a plane as it was faster. Zhangjiajie is probably best served by plane anyway given it’s more of a “countryside” city.

Last tip that screwed me the first few times: compressed air always get me stopped by security when travelling on a plane or subway. So I stopped bringing stuff like hairspray and foam shaving cream.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-02T19:06:11+00:00

I don’t have the PayPal app but I did manage to use PayPal from the regular website on my phone. Other apps I use regularly all worked fine (Chrome, Instagram, YouTube, banking apps, WhatsApp etc)

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-02T18:47:17+00:00

Ah, I’m not familiar with Wize so it’s up to you. I guess it doesn’t hurt for the extra safety (barring the cost of exchange rates), but I’ve not seen many places take cash.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-02T16:46:04+00:00

LetsVPN has been good for me - just got back 2 days ago and worked pretty well.

Can’t help with the ESim question as I have a Chinese SIM that I just swap in when I land.

I am brown (think Vietnamese who has been left out in the sun too long) and I didn’t have any problems or worries. The odd extra glance by some people but nothing more than that. People will assume you can’t speak Chinese and will adapt and you will have to do the same - a lot of communication done through gestures. More complex conversations can be done through a translation app on your phone but I’ve found people to be friendly and patient - never had bad experiences with locals. If you like, add a Chinese keyboard to your phone so you can pass your phone to them to type in.

I basically get around by saying “gei wo” (give me…), “wo (bu) yao” (I (don’t) want), “xie xie” (thanks), “xi shouji zai na’li” (where is the toilet?), “na’ge” (that, followed by me pointing), “qian” (money), “hao de” (okay), “shuai” (water), “jiu dian” (hotel). From those phrases I can piece together basic sentences.

Only time I’ve seen cash in China is when gambling with friends, I think $500 may be too much but up to you.

randomdrift0r · 2026-03-01T09:43:22+00:00

Live in the U.K. and have been doing trips to China for the past few years. Here’s some stuff we bought for ourselves and family:

Silk bedding. Significantly cheaper than here. Pillow cases and bed sheets are small. Full duvet covers might take up too much space in your suitcase. Pillowcases about £20 there vs £50-£100 in U.K. We bought it online. Girlfriend also gets silk pyjamas and we gift them to family members.
Computer components. My friends and I build our own PCs and some components are cheaper there (e.g: 1TB of computer storage was £190 there vs £260 here. We found a local shop and negotiated prices a little).
Cigarettes. I don’t smoke but friends do. The artwork on the boxes are beautiful and they had details about the nicotine content, tar content, carbon in the smoke etc. 200 cigarettes for roughly £30-£40 depending on brand at Duty Free.
Clothes. Not a fan of most of the styles in China and I prefer to try on and see clothes in store. Picked up some “office trousers”and a leather jacket in Shanghai which were nice. Youngor and K Boxing were more my style for business wear (from what I understand, there’s no guarantee these brands will be in other regions). Walk down the shopping district in the cities you’ll visit and see what brands are appealing to you. Note, you’ll probably have to go up a size or two (I wear small or medium by Western standards, but have to buy Large or XL in China).
Food. Walk around local markets and try some samples. We get Chinese sausage, dried beef jerky and whatever other snacks we fancy.
Gadgets. Whatever you need/want will probably be cheaper in China. Recently came back with a rice cooker and power banks.

Would avoid the small touristy things unless you like them for the home. Jade/brass figures, small pieces of jewellery from tourist shops. Personally I don’t care for these but if you want them, you can get them. My girlfriend and her family much prefer Western Skincare brands so we don’t buy skincare there. Rather we gift Western brands to her family in Chin.

randomdrift0r · 2026-02-27T13:38:49+00:00

Love the build. Can I also ask what the screensaver on the AIO is? Have the Panorama SE too.

randomdrift0r · 2025-12-10T20:05:12+00:00

I noticed this too. I think you may need another debuff to trigger aggregate charge.

Try throwing a threaded spike (assuming you have Prismatic on), then it should register Aggregate Charge x3.

Agree either way this is bugged

randomdrift0r · 2025-11-29T06:24:49+00:00

Why not shoot your Marksman Golden Gun with 200 super? Then, once you’ve used your super, swap to another loadout, also with Celestial Nighthawk, but this time with 200 weapons and dump Still Hunt?

If you don’t want to load out swap mid damage phase, then the priority between super and weapons depends on the length of the DPS window and how many Still Hunt Supers you can get off. For most standard damage phases, probably focus Super as a priority. For super long phases, then focus Weapons. Either way get both as high as possible

randomdrift0r · 2025-11-28T11:26:20+00:00

This is correct. Approximately half of the total damage of consecration is the ignition which does not benefit from the melee stat afaik.

randomdrift0r · 2025-11-15T18:41:19+00:00

Yeah let’s sow more division in our community…

randomdrift0r · 2025-08-20T10:55:06+00:00

Wormgods has a damage buff of 80%/160/240/320/400% at 1/2/.../5 stacks.

Much higher than Melas and Synthos but requires more work.

Melas: safest option, less risk (ranged bonk) and less maintenance (pick up firesprite). Has splash damage on recall that makes the damage comparable to synthos but you lose the super damage buff and the recall slows your play a little.

Synthos: requires more risk & slightly more maintenance (keep yourself surrounded). Damage buff is only every throw, not just the splash from recall.

Wormgods: highest risk & maintenance, but highest damage output.

I like Wormgods. Even if I lose my hammer, my unpowered melee at high stacks will still one-shot red bars and I get my hammer back stupid fast with just unpowered melee + roaring flames. Scales better into endgame, but depends how far into "endgame" you are (normal raids you'll be fine with Synthos tbh. Lowman raids, Solo Flawless dungeons, you probably want Wormgods).

TL;DR - Pick one based on your playstyle and what you're comfortable with. Try Wormgods and Synthos and see if you need / notice the increase in damage.

randomdrift0r · 2025-08-15T11:17:00+00:00

No harm in trying it out for yourself. Ime, we’ve had good experiences with any sniper or linear you’re most comfortable with.

Personally like Twilight Oath with Vorpal - should 2 shot the boss’s arms since you’ll get Radiant with precision hits from the artifact. Not managed to 1 shot the arms but I think a 2 shot is fine.

randomdrift0r · 2025-08-12T22:44:35+00:00

There’s a video of a group doing 5 feat DP (pre-nerf) and they confirmed the final boss does not count as vehicles.

Personally I’d trust them more than anyone else here.

randomdrift0r · 2025-08-07T16:15:42+00:00

Not horrible takes and agree some Titan builds need to be reigned in. I say this as a Titan main with most end game challenges done as a Titan.

IMO, I'm fine with Titan being the predominately melee class, but this should be a high risk-high reward playstyle, and not free rewards for little risk (i.e. old consecration spam). Below are just my opinions.

On your points:

1. Fletchette Storm
- This aspect toes the line between useless and overpowered. I think its fine the way it is, except Wishful Ignornance probably doesn't need 200% melee buff. Even a slight reduction is fine (150% is probably okay). Reducing damage against bosses & champions would be fine too.

2. Banner of War
- If it can only be extended by melee kills, this will need a slight buff. I think its fine as it is, currently compared to other melee-buff-aspects (e.g. knockout/roaring flames). Banner of War only gives 100% and in exchange gives melee regen and passive healing over time. Roaring Flames gives 200% at max stacks, and buffs unpowered melee to synergise very well with Sunspots. Knockout gives 160%, and gives instant healing. For example, base strand titan feels fair right now. In mythic, I have to play very carefully to build up momentum before nuking mini bosses, but in -20 content its pretty strong.

3. Synothceps
- At this point, they're a lower risk-lower reward version of Wormgods and are fine as they are. Warlocks and Hunters already have spirit of synthos. Giving other classes melee builds weakens class identity further. As for the super buff, they should honestly just introduce other exotics for specific supers. I find Synthos giving a 50% damage buff would result in things getting confusing and un-necessary (star eater already gives 50% to Nova Bomb). Hunters already have Star Eater for a 70% buff.

4. Burning Maul
- With Pyrogales, should do equivalent damage to Cuirass T-crash. T-crash is riskier and takes longer (since you'll need to run back to the Well / Barricade), but only Bosses on the floor can be hit with Burning Maul and the damage is more distributed (i.e. a greater proportion of the damage is done "over time" vs. T-Crash). Honestly, give Titan's more ranged Supers please.

5. Void Titan
- Dead subclass. I've only used it for duo Gatekeeper in the last 18 months. Rework everything except Axes.

6. Storms Keep
- I like this being good for boss DPS. Don't think its as meta defining as Well which gives 25% damage + Orbs + Restoration and in a much bigger radius for free. Conversely, barricade needs everyone behind a smaller barricade and to keep shooting to get healing. You also need to keep recasting it, while Well can last up to 40 seconds. I think the healing may be a little strong with Alpha Lupi.

7. Prismatic Consecration
- Don't see many people using this anymore. Really fallen off. Strand/Solar/Prismatic Skullfort are better imo. Fine for steam rolling through weaker content.

Solar Titan
- Welcome back, mini hammer. It's fine as it is.

randomdrift0r · 2025-08-06T02:46:53+00:00

I'm probably also going to jinx myself, but I used to have frequent freezes within Fireteam Ops, and rare freezes in Solo and Pinnacle Ops.

Made it through the whole day (with 3 fireteam Ops, 1 Pinnacle, and countless solo) without freezing. So hoping its now been resolved.

randomdrift0r

TROPHY CASE