We’ve covered a lot of weight loss journeys here at DMARGE — from Daniel Radcliffe getting ripped to the ‘World’s Fattest Man’ turning everything around, we’ve reported on them all. None, however, have involved this clever little motivational hack that’s all about the ‘spice of life’…
The Redditor, who goes by the username ‘u/hiddenless‘, is a 21-year-old bloke who has achieved what many guys would deem the impossible: over the course of his 2.5-year transformation he’s actually managed to gain weight — 4lbs of it — but emerge from the process looking indignantly healthier and more shredded than he did at the start.
WATCH: Post Malone Tells Joe Rogan “Coke” Is The Secret Behind His 30kg Body Transformation.
Getting Big
But how did this particular poster manage such a feat? Well, while his commentary on the body transformation may be scant, we can discern a couple of important fundamentals from the end result of his journey and then fill in the veritable gaps with a couple of insightful comments that the poster left under his own images…
First, the fundamentals: given that the poster has ultimately gained weight over the course of their transformation — and given how lean the final image reveals him to be, has clearly gained those pounds in lean muscle mass — we can guarantee that at least for a time during their longer journey, they will have been eating in a so-called calorie surplus. But what exactly is a calorie surplus and how can you maintain one?
M/21/5’8” [152lbs – 156lbs] (2.5 years)
byu/hiddenless inprogresspics
Well, the prime example of a successful calorie surplus or ‘bulk’ this year would be Zac Efron’s transformation for ‘The Iron Claw’, wherein the star combined a massive uptick in calorie consumption with heavy weight training for a number of months, resulting in a pumped-up, wrestle-ready physique. Tom Hardy also has good bulking tips, should you prefer his look.
Ultimately, to safely and effectively bulk, men should aim to consume a maximum of 20% more calories than their body needs per day, which equates to around 2,750 calories for the “average” man – we strongly recommend using a calorific calculator to tailor this number to your needs…
The Spice Of Life
However, guys looking to pack on some muscle often face two big challenges. First, consistently eating that much can be hard. Second, consistently working out can be even harder, especially when you’re stuck doing the same old weights workouts, focusing on the same old major moves, over and over again.
That’s where this Redditor’s spicy trick comes into play, and when I say ‘spicy’, I mean that it embraces the age-old truism ‘variety is the spice of life’. When asked by a commenter for his workout split, the poster had this to say…
“I alternate between weightlifting and calisthenics 6 times a week and sprinkle boxing, biking, and running in as hobbies”
u/hiddenless
Working out six times a week is never easy, but by keeping your workout regime varied, interesting, and genuinely exciting, it becomes much easier to tempt yourself down to the gym (or track, or ring) every single day. Clearly, this trick of diversifying his regime is working, and flattering comments poured in.
Responding to the ultimate gymbro flirtation — being asked whether he was ‘natty’ or using performance-enhancing steroids — the poster simply said this:
“Yes [I’m natural] lol, I’ll take that as a compliment”
u/hiddenless
So there you have it. If you’re trying to get shredded — at least once the holidays are out of the way — then you have your secret weapon. Keep the workouts varied and interesting and who knows, you might just have that six-pack in time for spring.