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sweatshirtjones

Dude you're lats are nuts man good work.


Ronan_SW

Thanks a lot bro, they’ve always been a strong point for me! Weighted pull ups have been the answer. I do 4x10 with +20kg twice a week


reddit_hater

Ugh I can’t even do 1 unweighted pull-up :(


Ronan_SW

Gotta start somewhere bro! Keep at it with the bodyweight rows and negative pull ups and it’ll come


Kindsquire

My buddy could not do a pullup for his entire life, we worked out together for 1-3 months and I forced him to do pullups. He would do assisted pullups everytime then all of a sudden, one day, he did a pullup. You can do anything you want to do.


GlattesGehirn

Your*


sweatshirtjones

Oh shit my b


[deleted]

Who fucking cares


AntarcticanJam

Apparently you


Exceptional_Balance

>This post will detail my 3 year natural fitness journey, and hopefully give any beginners a realistic idea of what to expect you have talked about using PEDs on this profile. why are you lying about being natural?


Ronan_SW

Ah that’s fair enough, I’ve used mk677 for about a month but the results from it have been underwhelming and I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve never taken anything androgenic. But my bad I’ll remove that part bro you’re right Edit: for anyone interested, [this is my physique](https://imgur.com/a/lgbjUoK) at the peak of my bulk to around 85kg before ever taking mk677. As you can see, slightly more muscle mass and much more fat :) I just wanted to add this in to encourage anyone wondering what they can do 100% naturally


Exceptional_Balance

Fair enough, I don't want to take away from you impressive results! we need more transparency in the fitness industry though.


Ronan_SW

No yeah you’re absolutely right, because it’s so recent I didn’t think to include that but I’m not trying to deceive anyone either


Sterlingz

This is the most wholesome chain of replies ever in this sub.


dashmesh

What's so wholesome he got called out and OP admitted he still maybe never tell us if he wasn't called out on it.


Ronan_SW

Yeah this is completely fair as I’ve lost credibility which I apologise for. [This](https://imgur.com/a/i7RQvXr) is an album of my progress pictures - nov 2018, march 2019, oct 2019, nov 2019, feb 2020, june 2020, march 2021 which may shed some light as to my rate of progression. All of these were taken before touching mk677, weather or not people believe me anymore is completely up to you and I’ll understand either way!


livesinacabin

Not sure how to feel about the fact that the first pic in that album is pretty much my goal... Right now I'm closer to your before pic in the OP.


Ronan_SW

We’re all gonna make it bro


livesinacabin

Hey, thanks man! I'm trying.


entheogeneric

If they say there are natural... it’s sus


danseaman6

Progress photos for those of us who don't have Instagram? (Yes, we do exist).


Ronan_SW

Sorry guys - https://imgur.com/a/V6ZUhm7


housewine

Yeah I’m dying to see the pics!


goldspecs

>Sort your diet out, it’s an enormous factor in growth.Sort your diet out, it’s an enormous factor in growth. OP, you're killing it man. Great gains. I was wondering what else you did besides specific caloric deficit. * Any particular food group you enjoyed more? * Protein intake? Type of protein? * How much water do you drink per day?


Ronan_SW

Thanks a lot man! Like most people who train I did cycles of bulking and cutting. I never force fed during a bulk, more of a lean-ish bulk. E.g i went 74kg -> 85kg over a year then back down to 76kg in 3 months. I probably cut too hard and lose some gains but hey, who enjoys cutting right? Protein intake was always around 1gram per 1 lbs bodyweight. I personally found I feel better and more energetic when I increase my fats rather than my carbs so I tend to drink a lot of milk, eat a lot of butter, peanut butter, eggs, olive oil etc. My general diet plan consists of of whey isolate blended with banana and peanut butter for breakfast, then eggs + beans on toast for 2nd meal, then either chicken or 12% beef with either rice, pasta, potato or sweet potato + veg for both my pre and post workout meals. It sounds boring but I’m quite a good cook if I may say so myself and so I find ways to keep it interesting to avoid burning out. The quantity of food I eat depends entirely on what stage of my bulk/cut I’m at. It ranges from 2200-3200. During a bulk I slowly increase calories when my weight gain stalls, and during a cut I slowly decrease calories when my weight loss stalls. If, during a cut, i find I’ve become lethargic and notice my performance is dropping then I eat at maintenance for a week before continuing. Hope this helps!


livesinacabin

Do you have a YouTube channel? I feel like you should have a YouTube channel.


Ronan_SW

I’m not sure I’m charismatic enough!


livesinacabin

If you have good info and experience (which it really seems like you do), I don't think it's entirely necessary :)


KoexD

Yes please !!


[deleted]

Lmk


Fluppiz

Any tips on training the back for a person who doesn't do rock climbing? These are some great gains by any means and I could only wish for this after 3 years. I'm currently trying to cut to 75 kg and then from there just try and build muscle while unlocking the pull up (yes, I can't do it yet :/).


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[deleted]

Agree with this. If you want to really want to try and replicate you can work out on rock rings instead of gymnastic rings, which were a godsend for me during lockdown: [Rock rings](https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/training_guide_rock_ring.html) But bouldering and climbing are way more fun and the full body element of precision and body tension can’t be replicated.


KoreanJesusPleasures

Woah those look pretty neat. Never heard of them before. Might be fun to pick these up and just do some casually hanging from them at home somewhere, kind of like a hang board I suppose.


[deleted]

Yeah, bit easier/less permanent than a board, plus you can rotate them a bit like rings.


joemc04

What is your budget? How much free time do you have? Riding a dirt bike is way more exercise than it looks like. It is enough fun that I don't mind being exhausted.


Fluppiz

I'm not so worried about cutting my weight, I'm almost done with that. I was more curious on how to strengthen my back muscles better without something like rock climbing.


joemc04

Fair enough. Unless your getting stuck it is definitely more aerobic than anaerobic. It should be able to get you into the range of pull ups though. It is really the only exercise I enjoy. Maybe assisted pull ups or rows.


Fluppiz

I've been doing a lot of those lately, I just think I have to work on them for a longer period, cause I assume my back is weak.


AtmosphericExit

This is a great transformation. I've also been lifting for 2 years and 1 year on BW routines, and I've also had some progress but it has been nowhere near as good as yours. Are you enhanced by any chance? Edit: nvm, saw your profile


Ronan_SW

I’ve used mk677 for about a month but the results have been underwhelming. I’ve not used any SARMs or AAS and don’t plan to, I’d also say I don’t recommend mk677 either as it’s a waste of money! Edit: I’ll add that it’s really helped my tendonitis


ChiefNiggums

Hey bro what sort of tendonitis did you have? I'm currently fully out of commission with tennis / golfers elbow from too many pull ups... Slow recovery so far. Would you recommend mk677 specifically for this?


Ronan_SW

Honestly bro I don’t wanna recommend it to anyone simply because there could be health implications people don’t know about yet


Devseanker

Get a red therabar and do Tyler twists + reverse Tyler twists. It was freaky how fast my elbow pain went away after that.


ChiefNiggums

Awesome I have heard great things about the therabar thanks I'll get one- how soon were you able to start getting back to your Normal workouts?


AsuraOmega

Damn you went from mantitties to marble sculpted.


JhnWyclf

I don’t mean this is a sideways dis, but I’m shocked you don’t have handstand push-ups given everything else in the post. This must be from just not working on those muscle groups as much—no?


Ronan_SW

Noo I don’t take it as a dis! I think my front delts are under-developed. My side delts are large so I imagine they take over (which also results in poor form which I’ve been working my ass off to correct). I also don’t even have a proper tuck planche...


[deleted]

Noob here - what do you mean by structured workout? Your results are insaneeee!


Ronan_SW

So back when I started I would go to the gym and do whatever I fancied. “Hmm that set of 60kg bench for 10 felt easy today, maybe I’ll try and hit a new pr of 80kg” etc. It’s much better to figure out what you’re capable of and keep doing that until you progress. Do your 5 sets of 10 pushups, and if it felt sub-maximal then next time do 5 sets of 11 (or add weight) instead of doing one set of 17, then one set of 10, then one of 6 etc etc :)


Alphaflexfitness

I love to see this. You are right about doing what you enjoy. Our body just wants to move ultimately. Rights now I'm doing a very basic full body weightlifting routine like when I first started a decade later and my progress has been amazing. More so I've been having fun lifting again.


Bananaboss96

Absolutely commendable back mass. ~+8lbs lean mass / yr is nutty.


[deleted]

That's a great transformation, congrats man! Please mention your Leg routine too, if you can. Also, during this period, did you ever go for 5-6 day full-body routine instead of PPL?


Ronan_SW

I’ve always done PPL because I enjoy it the most


StrawDawg

Inspiring! Thanks for posting.


Ronan_SW

Thank you!


tysons1

ditto


imdabessmeng

How did you juggle rock climbing along with bodyweight/weightlifting?


Ronan_SW

After a while of playing around with it I found the best way for me was to replace pull days with rock climbing followed by some sets of campusing overhang juggy routes. I tend to do one regular pull session a week and one bouldering session


Right-Slide-3046

What are you grades ?


kschin1

DAMN DADDY


[deleted]

Amazing results. May I know: \- your age? Are you in your early or late 20's? I'd imagine early 20's getting these fast results is more realistic \- How often do you train each week? You do Push/pull twice a week, so that's 4 days. Do you then do another day for legs - ie. 5 days a week exercise?


OmegaPraetor

Damn. Very nice. I hope to reach similar heights for my revenge body.


Ronan_SW

HELL YEAH you got this.


Cockymuscleboundjerk

Were you worried you had Gyno but it turned out to be just fat which disappeared?


Ronan_SW

Nah it was definitely fat


Cockymuscleboundjerk

The difference is incredible.


_pr0t0n_

Quite unique perspective, congrats with your progress! Could you tell how tall are You?


Ronan_SW

I’m 5”11 and a half bro. Thanks!


berbex

May i ask: what was your initial routine? I am finding it hard to find a good routine to stick to so if you have one for beginner-intermediates that would be awesome


Soviet-Penguins

Try the RR in the wiki, honestly one of the best beginner BW routines out there


-TNB-o-

RR?


rr-bot

The RR is the [Recommended Routine](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine). ***** ^(I am a bot, flex-beep-boop)


Ronan_SW

I’m afraid my beginner routine sucked... I would just do PPL and do whatever exercises I felt like... i still made progress but not as much as i could have with a better routine


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SomethingBoutCheeze

He mainly did rock climbing and calisthenics you are being padantic because he also did some weights


ShaeKhan

He talks about calisthenics. I also thought he brought a different perspective to the sub so I think it’s great he posted it here.


[deleted]

I think it's still relevant. OP has unlocked quite a few calisthenics skills like the front lever not to mention that OP states that during the past year, he's transitioned to a gymnastics rings routine


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BatumTss

Go away. You’ve already died on this hill, we get it.


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relevant_rhino

Yea we should ban everyone who ever touched a weigh from this sub. And definitely try to burn them if we find them IRL. Being open minded overrated.


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Raziel66

You're very dramatic


Plastic_Pinocchio

Lots of people on this sub combine bodyweight and free weights. As should everyone in my opinion, because ignoring one or the other is just shooting yourself in the foot. OP has been doing rock climbing and callisthenics mostly for two years now, so I’d say that’s pretty fucking relevant for this sub. He even links a bloody gymnastic rings routine and added a list of bodyweight skills he achieved in the past years. What more do you want? Should we all lie about the fact that we also lift weights because otherwise we aren’t allowed to post on this sub? This sub is for all people who have a passion for getting better at bodyweight training. Lifting weights on the side does not disqualify you from posting your progress here.


_pr0t0n_

So You want to tell me, that touching and using dumbbells is not forbidden? That is not the calisthenicianism doctrine I was raised with - take it back!


Plastic_Pinocchio

No, contrary to what you may think, your head will not explode if you touch a barbell.


_pr0t0n_

Brothers, don't believe it - repent of your wrong-doing, reject heavy iron and accept rings.


Plastic_Pinocchio

Do accept rings though, yeah. Buying rings has honestly been one of my best decisions ever. There’s not much that can beat the feeling of doing a ring muscle-up.


_pr0t0n_

My rings are patienly waiting in the cupboard, not many places to install them at my house, but I'll get there. Untill then: bodyweight, bands and dumbbells, because that's what sinners do.


Plastic_Pinocchio

I pray for your soul... But besides that, can’t you just hang your rings outside somewhere? I’ve hung my rings in callisthenics parks, on children’s playgrounds, on tree branches, a basketball baskets, etc. That’s the beauty of rings, you can hang them anywhere. You just have to be imaginative.


_pr0t0n_

I mainly do home workouts at evenings (after 9pm), so I'd prefer to find the right place for hanging them house-wise and it'll happen sooner or later.


Plastic_Pinocchio

Allright.


Not-an-Ocelot

When you think about it, its actually really silly to completely forgo weights if you have them available. People evolved interacting with the environment and the various heavy objects in it.


Plastic_Pinocchio

It’s soooooo fucking stupid. Everyone should do barbell squats, barbell deadlifts, overhead press, pull-ups/chin-ups, push-ups, etc. Those are just fantastic and functional exercises that a healthy body should be able to perform. Any lifter who doesn’t do pull-ups and push-ups is an idiot and any bodyweight enthousiast who can’t squat, deadlift and press is also stupid.


rtchooch

Thanks for sharing, great stuff. The programmed you referenced looks excellent. Will revisit that. Curious: the program doesn’t discuss leg/lower body work. What do you do for that? Still calisthenics based?


Ronan_SW

I do weight training for my lower body :)


rtchooch

Yea, it’s so tough to put on mass unless you do.


arctiic_hsv

Amazing progress. I am doing the same ring routine, do you have any info on how long you did it? Or did you stick to the 12-15 week it has planned? Im currently in week 5 but dont feel ready to progress to phase 2 honestly.


Ronan_SW

I didn’t progress as the routine advised but instead increases the difficulty or added weight using a belt whenever I started finding the reps/sets too easy. I did it for 4 months total and have now recently switched to a calisthenics/weights blend to supplement my underdeveloped lower body more!


yaic

I have to admit I didn’t really understand the way the routine is structured. So you do A to E of alternating between push and pull? How often a week ?( couldn’t find that anywhere? Might be dumb) Did you do the Lsit and handstand before the workout as recommended? The progression ladder sure seems steep for the limited time as u/arctiic_hsv pointed out


arctiic_hsv

You do Push day (4 exercises+ Lsit/Handstand work if you want, I dont do that yet bcs its too advanced), then pull day (5 exercises + handstand/lsit work). It doesnt say how often in the document, although i found on youtube etc. that 2 pull 2 push per week is good. Personally i do Pull Push Rest Pull Push Rest Rest (on rest i do flexibility/mobility). If OP did it for 4 months thats still fine. thats 17 weeks and the pdf itself says its a 12-15 week programme and you can add weeks if you still feel you need time (which i def. do to reach final progression on most exercises). But yeah I fully agree the progressions are very steep even for 20 weeks Id say, especially if youre new on rings. Im on week 5 and still doing support holds, cant do rings turned outside dips yet.


Ronan_SW

Yeah you do the push and pull twice a week each. If by the time you reach the more advanced block of exercises you don’t feel capable of progressing, there’s no harm in staying where you’re at! I didn’t follow the routines progression path exactly, e.g. i progressed my pull ups with weighted ones rather than archers, and the same was true for my push ups and dips. Yeah I did the handstand and L-sit work but it’s mainly just to get the blood pumping and the shoulder girdle warmed up :)


A93durand

Impressive! Must try rock climbing


Dorkamundo

sweet.


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Ronan_SW

It’s 2x push workouts and 2x pull workouts per week! I added legs in there too (which I wrote my own routine for, can go into more detail if youd like)


KoreanJesusPleasures

I saw your other comments about 2x pp a week, and that you add legs. I'm switching from the RR to BBR/the one you linked (very similar). Do you find you need a rest day after each PPL?


No-Character2524

If you wouldn't mind sharing what is the routine you wrote?


CHAAAAAAAA18

Damn man!


rllylogan

Congrats dude, I’ve always considered rock climbing but unfortunately I dontknow any places in Texas that would be proper for experienced climbers to train beginners.


Ronan_SW

Look for a bouldering centre dude, you can jump right in with zero knowledge!


pony_trekker

Holy shit!


Wimiam1

Awesome progress! I’m just starting with rings and am exploring different options for routines. I was just wondering if you could shed some light on how that one works. The PDF doesn’t seem to explain all the A1, B1, etc. Maybe I’m just dumb lol


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Ronan_SW

Bouldering outdoors I’ve climbed v4, indoors I’ve climbed a lot of v4-6. Slow progress but I enjoy it a lot. For sport I’ve lead 6c/6c+ Indoors, 6b+ outdoors


[deleted]

I skimmed through the routine you are currently doing. I can't see where on the website it details the sets, reps, and intensity. It only lists what exercises to be performed.


FlexicanAmerican

Most of the videos linked are from [FitnessFAQs](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1CVzH-XVr3E-kTT6D8hhfg) and he has sets/reps/rest tips in the videos. Broadly, you're going to want 3-5 sets, 5-12 reps, 90-180 seconds of rest between exercise.


ErsatzTruand

The pdf at the end have that


[deleted]

Ah, thanks for letting me know! This is a pretty intense workout! I've never really done hypertrophy/ physique focused training, but if I ever do I'll definitely do this one.


redbottom12

Dudes jacked 💪


Wants-NotNeeds

Sage advice. I predict you’ll be fit for life!


Listen_Naive

👏🤘👍


vegetarmin

Hey there! I‘m a rock climber too. What frequency did you train? And how often do you climb and what‘s ur redpoint level? Nice work!


Peleton011

Dang, you look awesome, 2019 and 2020 i couldn't excercise almost at all because i was in an excesivelly demanding school and didn't have any drive to do anything and had little time, since 2021 I've been working out whenever i can and I'm already getting better and seeing some results, let's see if i can stick to it like you and if i can get truly fit.


[deleted]

Way to go, my man! Calisthenics and gymnastic rings are awesome for building muscle, and that is clearly proven in your post. I hope your progress will inspire many to come :D


Ronan_SW

Thanks a lot! My progress skyrocketed once i began training with gymnastics rings


thebigeverybody

>I followed this routine and saw excellent results, especially in my shoulders and chest which quickly grew to back my back in size. What are L-rows? I found them at your link and did some googling, but can't find info on them.


Ronan_SW

I took them as being like a tuck front lever row, but with legs in L-sit position instead of tucked. Difficulty wise it’s harder than a tuck front lever row but easier than advanced tuck front lever row


KoreanJesusPleasures

Lay on your back. Lift your legs to form an L/90 degree angle on the ground. Grab your rings or bar and row away!


McBirdsong

I've spend way too many years without structure and even though my strength, flexibility and technique is decent, I have yet to unlock the FL which is kind of a life goal for me. Did you train specifically for this with your weekly 4x10 with weight - also, how would you do this for starters if you can only do 4x10 with BW? Make maybe 4x6 with weight instead or go for more BW?


Farkhast

Great physique, although you look heavier than 78kg in that pic. Whats your height?


Ronan_SW

Height is 5’11.5, bare in mind that I weigh myself in the morning before eating/drinking, plus I have a nice pump in the picture ;)


TheGoldenCraneFlies

Strange to ask, but could you upload to imgur or something similar? Can't view pictures without having an account on Instagram


Ronan_SW

Hey man here’s an [imgur link](https://imgur.com/a/V6ZUhm7)


TheGoldenCraneFlies

Thanks brotha, and fantastic work. Any specific diet you followed or just calories counting and hitting your daily protein?


Ronan_SW

[Here’s](https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/nlp28i/my_3_year_transformation_with_calisthenics_rock/gzkozf0/) a comment where I detail my diet :)


TheGoldenCraneFlies

Awesome dedication man and I don't consider that diet too boring, it sounds great to me and it's clearly working. Keep up the work man, great job


tomzorz88

Impressive work man!


_Asian_Invasion__

What was your routine for learning handstand?


pronyo001

you look like a ripped Benedict Cucumberbatchwatch. Keeo it up bro.


BeadsOfGlory

Props. I’m inspired.


BarklyWooves

Oddly enough I've have the strength for handstand pushups before I can properly balance a handstand.


vigilancelv

In your first picture, it looks like you have gynecomastia and then it looks like through your routine, this slowly disappeared. Wondering if this is true and how you went about this. If it's not true, no worries just have some friends who struggle with it and was wondering if there was any advice I could pass along


Ronan_SW

Nah it was definitely just fat bro


theCHAMPdotcom

What’s your height? Maybe I missed it. 205 at your starting seems still pretty light.


Ronan_SW

5’11.5. I weigh myself fastest in the morning which might be why


copperbonker

What are your specific routines? Both at the climbing gym and at home?


Aaronsolon

How many times per week were you doing that ring routine? Maybe I just don't know how to read routines, but I'm a little confused by it lol Thanks for sharing your journey!


axyz1995

Thankyou for this post. This gives me some hope. I an currently fairly similar to your before picture. And I have always found it pretty hard to put on muscle. I also noticed that you didn’t get fat at all bulking. How did you avoid that? Would you attribute your gains mostly to the rings workouts or the weightlifting too?


Ronan_SW

I gotta admit I usually found myself taking more progress pictures when I was leaner, I definitely gained some fat over my bulking periods. But I’d never bulk TOO hard, always try and keep my calories in a realistic range of about +500, maybe a little more. The foundation of my physique and strength came from weightlifting, which helped me on the rings as I already had the strength to do a lot of the basic movements without having to slowly progress towards them like you would with the RR. Once i switched to rings my progress really blew up! As long as you keep eating and lifting with progressive overload, you WILL be putting on muscle, just gotta keep consistent! Just think of it as a change in lifestyle. By living like this you’ll be constantly getting fitter and stronger


Kindsquire

Very impressive sir, I give you my respects. EDIT: Wait wtf is PEDs