​It’s January 1st and you haven’t thought about exercise or nutrition for two weeks.
 
You have been eating a lot more than usual, drinking a lot more than usual – and I don’t mean water – and sitting around a lot more than usual. Maybe you feel bloated or sluggish and you think it’s time to “get back on track.” How do you do it?
 
In this article, I intend to cover some strategies to incorporate healthy eating and exercise back into your life after a “holiday layoff.”

​Squat, bench, and deadlift are staple exercises for lifters of all ages. They are the three main lifts performed in powerlifting competitions, so they are a “must do” for athletes. They are also compound movements that work out different muscle groups at the same time, which is ideal for anyone who wants to build strength, sculpt their physique, and improve their body’s efficiency performing everyday tasks. Lastly, they’re the best exercises to show off and ego lift.
 
Good old ego lifting. I’ve been there often, trying to push a weight that was way out of my league because my workout log said so. But what does actually happen when you lift too much?
 
Having had a bad case of ego lifting at least once on each of the three lifts mentioned above, I noticed different consequences. And no, it wasn’t only injury. There are also less obvious outcomes, ranging from hampering your gains to developing bad form habits.

​A hardgainer is someone who struggles to gain muscle, no matter how hard they exercise or what they eat. We usually associate the word with a skinny guy who forgets to eat or burns through everything he does eat thanks to his furnace-like metabolism. In fact, there are many more reasons why you might think you belong to this category. For example, if you’re a trans guy and you aren’t taking testosterone, you may feel like a hardgainer compared to cis men.
 
I’m a bit of a hardgainer myself, but I’ve been able to make some good changes to my physique regardless. The biggest lesson I have learnt so far is that making gains is definitely possible, but it might not happen the way I think it “must”, based on what other people have accomplished. It only happens the way that’s right for my own body.
 
In this article, I’m going to outline my experience, issues, and solutions, hoping to help other small guys and girls out there with their own fitness journey.

​Before September 2018, I hadn’t been to a gym in about fifteen months. Even when I did go on a regular basis, I only ran on the treadmill. In September I moved from London to Portsmouth, where I have two gyms within walking distance from my house. Having out-trained my home equipment, I decided to sign up for the university gym.
 
On my first day, too scared to go into the male changing room, I dropped my backpack in the female one in a mad rush and stepped onto the gym floor with trepidation. The room was almost empty, which made the mirrors stand out all the more. Mirrors on every single wall, haunting me, showing me how small and puny and female I look from every possible angle. A painful reminder of what I’m not, of what I should have been.
 
In addition, that day I was supposed to start a different training routine with new, unfamiliar exercises. As a result, I was shaking throughout the workout and left on the verge of tears. Dysphoria is a bitch, am I right?
 
One of the reasons why I want to become a personal trainer is to help other trans folks overcome this. Personally, I had to change gym and find ways to build my confidence. Here are six tips that have worked well for me: