Is it just me or is lifting for "aesthetics" a never-ending battle that you can't actually win?

Is it just me or is lifting for "aesthetics" a never-ending battle that you can't actually win?

After doing 6/day week split for years and watching my macros like an hawk I find that training and eating like that isn't conducive to my lifestyle as Ive entered my 30s, focusing on business and family has taken over my life.

I recently stopped tracking macros like a robot and have began focusing on "healthy" eating, and I switched from my 6/day week split to a 3/day week full body routine, and I have found this to be far better for other aspects of my life. Not having to weigh everything on a food scale, not having to scan bar-codes, not having to ensure I hit certain macro goals, it's actually pretty amazing how much extra time it frees up. Now only going to the gym 3/days a week instead of 6, that has improved my relationship with my family a lot, and I've had more time during the week to work on my business. Overall I feel less stressed, and it's a good thing.


Now I am probably not going to be able to maintain the body I built lifting 6/days a week and counting macros to the T for all those years, but at this point in life I feel its just not for me anymore.

This feels like my own kind of "clean up your room" kind of thing, I feel like my life is a lot more optimized for my current life goals. Anyone else experience something similiar?

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the final redpill: the only people who are ripped who aren't internet forum NEETs with all day to think about training and nutrition are juicing

My epiphany wasn’t so grandiose as yours.

I’m just a Manlet with birth-giving hips, so I’ll never be aesthetic. Since becoming aware of my genetic faults, I beganjust focusing purely on minimalist strength training not worrying about how I look, just focusing on performance, strength and overall health.

You probably just have low testosterone which is why you aren't looking aesthetic after years of lifting 6 days a week.
Go get your T levels checked and if it's low, get on TRT (without prescription if necessary).

This. And those natty NEETs with all the time in the world to train, eat, and sleep perfectly still look like shit compared to the guys on juice who just fuck around in the gym and eat maccas.

>he actually thinks your testosterone level is what determines aesthetics

lol your newfag is showing

>Lifting for aesthetics
>Lifting for girls

Sports and general health is the only reason you should be lifting

Are you fucking retarded? It literally determines your gains. OP clearly has made fuckall gains after years of lifting, so there's a good chance his T levels are low.

the virgin natty NEET vs the Chad enhanced businessman

Agreed. Notice one thing about Chads, they only ever lift for a purpose outside of women, it’s always related to their job, sports/entertainment. None of them do it for women, just take note of the many Chads who aren’t into sports/entertainment, none of them lift, and they still swim in the poontang.

From what I understood the OP is talking about maintaining his aesthetics, as in that’s an never ending battle that you can’t win.

Take note of his last sentence where he mentions the fact about being unsure if he can still maintain the body he built lifting 6 days a week and counting macros.

I could use some mass but I'm ripped but I don't stress over macros, etc. Train 3 days per week push/pull/legs

6 months from now:
>"You know what? I bet I'd have even more free time if I was only lifting twice a week"

9 months from now:
>"What really is healthy eating anyway? I'd have so much more time to focus on my business if I just grabbed a few slices of pizza for lunch"

1 year from now:
"There are plenty of people who only go to the gym once a week. Hell, there are people who don't even go."

18 months from now:
"Why go to the gym when I can eat ice cream? I'm in my 30s. Fitness is a young man's game."

2 years from now:
"Why even get out of bed? I lost my business because I was so ashamed of the way I looked that I refused to meet with anyone. I haven't showered for days and at this point what's the point in taking a shower. It's just a waste of time. Oh, and that flutter in my chest is something I should probably get looked at, but really, I mean, even if it is a heart attack waiting to happen, is that really that bad? My wife left me for an aesthetic 20 year old and my kids think I'm a loser. Better to just stay in bed and finish this bag of marshmallows. Besides, Judge Judy is on and I haven't missed an episode in 6 months."

3 years later:
"Here Lies user. Some Fat Loser Who Died of a Heart Attack at Thirty-Five Because Going to the Gym and Tracking Macros 'just wasn't for me anymore.'"

RIP in peace fat ass

Tbh if your not

>married to a wife you love and who loves you
>with at least 3 healthy kids
>extremely comfortable financially

Then aesthetics/counting calories should be the last of your concerns.

Go get a life and stop wasting it on dieting apps and lifting 5-7 days a week you pathetic manchilds

>b-but I love lifting and tracking my diet like an autistic faggot

Nobody gives a shit what you love doing right now, your future self especially doesn’t give a shit, in fact your future self will hate you for it.

>tldr; if you don’t lift 6 days a week you’re going to lose all your gains and get fat, and counting macros is the secret to immortality


The fake natties have got you brainwashed

kek

"Nobody gives a shit what you love doing right now, your future self especially doesn’t give a shit, in fact your future self will hate you for it." I mean this all depends on what the 'doing' is comprised of. My brother for instance coded all the time when he was young because he loved it, and now he's a software engineer making very good money. I'm sure his present self appreciates the passion and drive his younger self had. Do you mean to say your future self may hate you for what you're doing now, especially if what you're doing is only beneficial to the present?

I'm 27 and work a labor job and only go to the gym Fridays and Sundays and do a fullbody workout and it works out fine for me

Perfecting your lifting and diet to the absolute T for aesthetic purposes is a total waste of your life if you’re making a good living off doing so.

Maintaining that level of conditioning and muscle mass can become undone at the slightest change in life circumstance or hiccup like an injury or illness

Then stop lifting you lazy fuck, stop wasting our time by whining about how hard you find all of this

If you’re not making a living*

I’ve been lifting since 2002, your probably not much older than how long I’ve been lifting.

You’ll probably not even be lifting in the next few years anyway, I’ve seen your kind in the gym, your kind burns out fast, with your over the top attitude and obsessive autistic all or nothing attitude, your kind always, always, always, 100%, burn out and fall off never to be seen again.

Be honest with yourself, will you?

>After doing 6/day week split for years and watching my macros like an hawk I find that training and eating like that isn't conducive to my lifestyle as Ive entered my 30s, focusing on business and family has taken over my life.

Let's rephrase this, you went with the sheep route. As anybody who follows this path, you ended up having to be good little worker and a good little hubbie first, and an free individual second. An individual who now has no more time to for his body, his health, his fitness, his aesthetics, and will probably soon no longer have time for his hobbies and interests. All because you're too busy trying to please a woman and a boss.

Now, realising this is something that probably hurts your pride, and because of that you'll internalize your new obligations as some type of deliberate decision you've arrived at rationally. You'll shake your fist in anger at those men free of responsabilities that are doing what you wish you were doing, you'll criticize the "pointlessness" of having hobbies and interests that don't fit the necessities of #family and your #career, and you'll talk about being happier than ever despite the fact you're now stuck in two cultural institutions (modern business and modern family) that are so far away from your nature that they're basically killing you with an accomodated lifestyle full of stress, cortisol and low testosterone, all while you listen to some new meme guy on a podcast telling you this is what being a real man is.

Follow your path, but remember we all know this is an obligation and not a choice. Don't go around talking about how other lifestyles are "never-ending battles you can't win", because deep down you wish you were fighting these battles still.

in other words: order always turns back to chaos if you let it.

>Is it just me or is lifting for "aesthetics" a never-ending battle that you can't actually win?

Aesthetics are subjective. My ideal physique, which I'm not that far away from, is a slightly leaner version of the built-fat, faceless user who gets posted in husbando and ideal/thicc male threads. You'll never be as big as your pump, but unless you've got body dysmorphia or unrealistic goals you should absolutely be able to reach a point where physique-wise you can say "this is enough". At which point you begin the new challenge of maintaining that while improving other aspects of yourself like strength or flexibility.

I just eat healthy, in reasonable amounts and do calisthenics and look more aesthetic than 90%+ of guys

God you’re pathetic, you sound like a male feminist. The world will be 100% shitskin if every white man had your pathetic selfish feminist attitude towards life.

Unironically, you better bloody well start cleaning up your room, bucko.

eNtR0pY^~

Exactly this. It's common knowledge amongst non beta/autists. Building muscles and getting "aesthetic" then getting all the girls is a fantasy of the loser. Girls don't really care about muscles as long as you have some, but the most important thing is staying lean.

I lift so I'm strong which helps me with the MA I train and so I stay lean which gives the best overall look and is healthy. I don't track macros but I try to eat healthy for the most part and get enough protein.

what's so hard about lifting 5x week? takes me around 1h average time on the first week, then as I progress to week 2 and 3 reps on the compounds are less, and on week 4 I do a deload with less sets, reps and weight (following linear periodization from eric helms)

macros get annoying and social aspects dont allow to count but you can still make progress using a scale to weight yourself daily and make weekly average and also track gym progress, not to mention visual progress.
I track whenver possible though

he did a bro-split and ate like a bird. what makes you think that fails to account for his lack of progress?

bro-splits are absolutely trash and tracking your macros with autistic precision should only be done when prepping for a contest.

>After doing 6/day week split
Well there's your problem. The only people that do that are juicing. Unless you are a genetic god, natty bodies literally cannot handle that load.

Don't lift for current aesthetics. Lift for fun and future aesthetics: no one wants to be the fat, arthritic uncle in his 40s+ (or the equivalent grandpa in his 70s+), so aim to be better than that.

>natty bodies literally cannot handle that load.

This isn't why bro-splits suck.

body-part splits suck because the SRA curve for most muscles is shorter than once per week. Also they tend to lead to doing shitloads of useless isolation work and failing to do the basics (hurr-durr 4 curl variations and call it a day)

My man, I went from intermittent fasting and trying to lean bulk with a 250 calorie surplus to just saying fuck it and eating anywhere from 3800 to 5000 calories a day. My strength shot up like crazy, I feel way less restricted, and it's just a better lifestyle. Not weighing everything and just eyeballing shit is a massive relief. And I haven't put on nearly as much fat as I thought I would; I thought I'd have to cut a couple of months ago, but I still haven't gone over 20% bodyfat (which is my stopping point). The human body is not made to ingest a certain amount of food each day, its needs vary based on a variety of things.
Also yes, 3 day full body routines are best for making it work with your life. I'm a college student and work a part time job where the schedule varies, and I write for the school paper on top of that where I'll typically have to take a bus out somewhere and interview people for a story every week. I wouldn't be able to do all of that shit with a 6 day split. With 3 days, you can move your Monday to Tuesday if your schedule demands it, that kind of thing.
Fitness should make your life better, not worse. I wish I'd realized that sooner.

If you were truly aesthetic, youd already be aesthetic without lifting. You cannot lift yourself into aesthetics, being good looking is a genetic thing. Unless you store a lot of fat in your face and you're fairly fat , you're not going to go from hunchback to hot stuff. So many of you seem to think lifting changes your bone structure and will magically make your ugly face aesthetic-it won't. Your true aim is basically to become a butterface so that there's something redeemable in the package of shit that is you. Your aim is being acceptable- trying to aim for aesthetics is just setting yourself up for failure and bitterness

Memes aside, how the hell do people even make gains on a 1x frequency split?

I tried it myself and I forget how to squat after a week of not doing it. Seems I need at least 2x frequency (3 being the best) to actually maintain the same proper form.

I envy guys that can come into the gym and squat once a week and still have good form

>Memes aside, how the hell do people even make gains on a 1x frequency split?

Depends on how you structure your sets / reps and what else you do.

I took my squat from 315 to 475 squatting once per week but my squat day was usually something like 5-8 sets of 5-8 reps with between 70% and 85% and I'd follow up with RDLs or Goodmornings.

I don''t think I could do that twice a week and not end up hurting myself.

The other (probably smarter) approach is to split that total weekly volume into at least two, maybe three, days.

ever since you fags introduced me to peterson ive started to notice how much i actually lie

like i note every lie i say, even when im drunk talking shit i consciously tell myself that was a lie

it kinda scares me that i just cant tell the actual truth even though im aware... Is it just too boring? whats wrong with me

the real battle is between strength and aesthetics - cut for aesthetics or keep bulking to get stronger

Full body 2 to 3 times a week is best if you're natty

You're in denial. You have a big ego

what does that even mean? how do i fix

>no you can only lift 3x week or you have to roid!!

and this is why most of the board is dyel, nothing better than spreading your lifts through the week and hitting 2x-3x frequency per week

bunch of dyel, negative fucks

>memorize all of the foods in the super markets
>the many different additives
>the other stats and data
>takes about 3 months or more
>use zero electronic help
>derive optimal clean food path through this data
>start seeing patterns in foods so I dont have to do a lot of label watching anymore sometimes
>time invested into proper macro's (which comes down to a simplified version of "eat some meats for protein faggot")
>basically doesnt take up a lot of time anymore at the end of it, while still maintaining good dietary habits.

wow, so hard.

Look at freuds theory and what he described as "ego" and to fix unironically love yourself

FUCKING UNDERRATED 10/10

>Freud
more like fraud

>why aren't you autistic like me?

He's a pioneer of psychology and while it's true that a lot of his theories are probably pseudoscience, there is some truth to them too.

The aesthetic lifestyle (counting calories, having OCD about what you do in the gym in the sense that you need xy amount of sets and reps or you off yourself, not being able to skip days if necessary because it will fuck with your calories and macros and BDD, etc, etc, etc) is a meme. You can't be J. Peterson, President, Billionaire, CEO, Entreprenour, have a social life, etc, living like that. Your profession must revolve around fitness if you want that to happen, like Guzman, Ogus, Seid, Francis, Laid, etc.

Look for balance. Your swole will leave you at some point, so make sure to invest in other areas of your life, too.

Have you also noticed how the most attractive women don't go for swole or ripped guys? Think about that for a second.

>he's given up on aesthetics because its too hard

>Have you also noticed how the most attractive women don't go for swole or ripped guys? Think about that for a second.

that's where you're mistaken, you don't lift for girls.

>what is the ability to have a basic working memory and a brain that is capable of theorycrafting

But the vast majority of men do.

I use to hate these kinds of posts like the OP when I was younger but now that I am older I "get it".

That youthful ignorance of lifting the weeks away without a care, focusing entirely on yourself and yourself only, the joy you get out of that doesn't last forever, at some point you have to sacrifice some of your gains for a better life, the reality is most of us will have to do that (unless we make a living off our body)

You're projecting. What a fucking dumb reason to lift though. Spending like 2 hours a day(counting shower/travel) working out; and eating right just to make yourself a bit more physically attractive.

>You're projecting
How.

Just because you are doesn't mean the vast majority are. Your view is skewed by the insecure autists you spend so much time interacting with I.e. Here

>doesn't mean the vast majority are
Who the fuck believes this? This is the male equivalent of when women says they don't wear makeup for other people.

Is it though you fucking retard? Putting make up on does nothing but change your appearance. Lifting brings a heap of other benefits I'll listen a few for you seeing as you think it's just for muhh aesthetics and girl. It makes you stronger, improves physical health, improves neurotransmitter levels, builds character, outlet for stress, you actually enjoy it and making progress.

Pussy begging beta.

...

The biggest redpill was when i started actually caring about my health. Quit smoking, drink less, eat more veggies, 45 mins of cardio daily, and soon lifting to get stronger. I’ look better now than i ever have and I’m 24 and dyel. But I’m wlso feeling good too

>imma proud southerner

give me a break

>I have no argument so I'll pull a statement out of my ass
I'm a bong fyi

that is even worse

>it builds character

You're a retard with no argument, stop replying to me

Taking part in goal directed behaviour doesn't give you a sense of accomplishment? It doesn't take mental strength to force yourself to go to the gym 5 days a week and train hard? It doesn't take willpower to stop yourself from eating trash?

youtu.be/5LlI9hio_Do

>>Lifting for aesthetics
>>Lifting for girls


>implying those arent perfectly justifiable
Easy pussy is nice, if a little over rated. Looking good is like a cheat code for life too. Most modern men dont need functional strength either, so dont even bullshit me about that

>doesn't mean the vast majority are
You genuinely believe that the vast majority of males don't go to the gym for the sole purpose of becoming more attractive to the opposite sex?

>Agreed. Notice one thing about Chads, they only ever lift for a purpose outside of women, it’s always related to their job, sports/entertainment. None of them do it for women, just take note of the many Chads who aren’t into sports/entertainment, none of them lift, and they still swim in the poontang.
>Exactly this. It's common knowledge amongst non beta/autists. Building muscles and getting "aesthetic" then getting all the girls is a fantasy of the loser. Girls don't really care about muscles as long as you have some, but the most important thing is staying lean.

Youre beta autists for trying to break it down like that
Woman love muscles lmao
Looking good will always get you better treatment
t. former fatty

a bro split is different than a good 4 or 5 day routine
Like imagine some really cringey meme shit, like a day where you go in and do 21 gunz, and the next day you do 80 skull crushers
I do a 4 day UL and it works well

Shut the fuck up. This guy is 39 y/o. And I bet both of my testicles that his life is much busier than yours.

If he can keep it up, so can you.

>What a fucking dumb reason to lift though. Spending like 2 hours a day(counting shower/travel) working out; and eating right just to make yourself a bit more physically attractive.
Idk why people underestimate the value of looking good
Ugly people are laughed about

Funny thing is you're the beta autistnd you don't see it. Hardly "breaking it down", what was said in both posts is pretty simple desu. Only a fool would deny that women like muscles but for that little bit of extra physical attractiveness you get from it, it's not worth it. And you were fat so obviously you're gonna see a big difference when getting fit. Most guys are skinny or just kinda skinny fat. Keep up your gymcelling!

same fucking thing
The only tolerable parts of america are where germans settled
i.e the midwest

An ugly with muscles is still ugly, while a good looking without is still good looking. And before you come at me with it improves your face, yes if you were fat to begin with. Apart from that changes will be pretty minimal.

Alright maybe some do. They're fucking pathetic and I'd like them to stay away from me, thanks

And for your career, depending on your job.

Yeah that makes complete sense. I had a great face underneath so i saw huge improvements.
Being lean isnt the key to girls either though, i got laid when i was fat.

Lifting for aesthetics is definitely more worthwhile than
for the vast majority of western men. Most jobs are soyboy tier.

Aesthetics arent just for girls
Day to day service is a lot more friendly, it gives you an advantage while job hunting, instant respect or pure disdain is given from those smaller than you, you feel more confident, you act more confident, ect

Youre basically saying its okay to wear sweatpants everywhere because dressing respectably doesnt have any benefit
Being in shape helps your image a lot
No one respects a fatty or a skeleton if there is someone impressive nearby

my bad then
I personally do ULxPPL because I like that extra upper day, let's me focus on things like rear delt(facepulls), traps and other stuff to bump up the frequency a bit on those since they don't really get hit directly

my 2nd leg day and pull day are pretty chill, no compounds albeit im considering putting diddlys on pull instead of the Lower since squat + deadlift are a pain in the ass since I also do diddlys 3x5

20% is a lot though. Might want to consider lowering that stopping point a bit.

Fierce five routine?
I have started enjoying front squating and deadlifting on the same day
I do bat wings and reverse flies for delt work, my gym has shitty cable machines

eric helms intermediate 5 day routine

got his PDF from here and then watched his pyramid training videos on youtube
>they were the same thing
anyways


do you do your diddlys 3x5? going to bump my rest time from 2mins to 3 or even 4 since the last rep always lacks a bit on those two last sets

shame about the cable machines because cables are truly underrated, cable flys, cable wood choppers, facepulls, tricep pushdown, etc.

>implying you'll ever be as big as you want to be

Taking care of your health is rewarding, vanity is ultimately not. Every successful culture has been saying this for millennia.

They're not wrong.

In the same boat.
>mid 30's
>have a family now

I gave up on macros years ago, now I just approach diet with common sense, lift regularly, run and ruck march. Nkw its all about being a good role mode for mg sonl, live a long life and to make sure I'm not the one holding the shoes.

*role model for my son

>making roundeye carry your bitch

alpha as fuck

>do you do your diddlys 3x5? going to bump my rest time from 2mins to 3 or even 4 since the last rep always lacks a bit on those two last sets
front squat 3x5
deadlift 3x8
Then i do calf raises, abs and cardio. Kind of a short day, but its the final day in my schedule

similar to mine

squats
diddlys
calf raises
hanging leg raises
cable wood choppers