F29 | 5'6" | 56-58kg | 8yr Fitness Journey (2023-26) | Home workouts till Jun 2026

[Pranav]

Training Experience

I've been training consistently for about 8 years, and the progress photos below cover 2023-2026.

Until June 2026 I did all my workouts at home using a squat rack, barbell, adjustable plates, dumbbells, resistance bands and a bench. I only recently joined a commercial gym.

I'm not a bodybuilder, powerlifter or athlete. My goal has always been general strength, fitness, muscle development and staying active.

Training Plan

For the past three years I mostly followed a full-body strength routine instead of a traditional split.

My routine included:

Lower body: barbell squats (30 kg), Romanian deadlifts (30 kg), hip thrusts (30 kg), reverse lunges (5 kg dumbbells), curtsy lunges, good mornings, glute kickbacks, band hip abductions.

Upper body: barbell bench press (~18 kg), dumbbell rows, bent-over rear-deltoid raises, face pulls, lateral raises, dumbbell bicep curls, tricep dips, tricep extensions, band chest flyes.

Conditioning / full body: dumbbell snatches (5 kg).

Core: hollow holds, weighted hollow holds, weighted crunches, bicycle crunches, knee crunches, side jack-knives, in-and-outs, dead bugs.

Workouts usually lasted 90-120 minutes including warm-up and cool-down. I trained mainly for consistency rather than following a strict progressive overload program.

Diet / Nutrition

I don't follow a hardcore bodybuilding diet. My approach is simple: focus on whole foods, get enough protein (around 160 g) and fibre, limit processed food, avoid alcohol and skip aggressive bulking or cutting phases. I stopped counting calories after it pushed me towards an eating disorder.

I've kept a fairly stable weight while gradually improving strength and body composition.

Lifestyle Details

I work as a corporate professional with long hours, so home workouts were often the only practical option. My daily activity includes walking and commuting. Consistency matters more than perfection.

What Made The Biggest Difference

The biggest factor was consistency. I wasn't chasing an influencer program or rapid transformations. Most of my progress came from simply showing up regularly over several years, even on imperfect days. Building a home gym removed many barriers and helped me stay consistent despite a demanding job.

Challenges

Learning exercises through trial and error, limited equipment compared to a commercial gym, balancing fitness with a high-pressure corporate career, and periods when progress felt slow or invisible. One key lesson: small improvements add up over time far more than I expected.

[Falguni]

Congrats!

[Vikas]

This just proves that you only need sheer grit and inner strength to make great progress!

[Suresh]

Weren't you already fit from the beginning, looking at it side by side?

[Namrata]

Nice tattoos!

[Menon]

Ah, it's you again! Those tattoos are crazy cool. I remember seeing your picture about a year ago and thinking the same thing.