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TransLater @lemmy.blahaj.zone
Captain Janeway @lemmy.blahaj.zone

Workout routine recommendations for pre-HRT individuals?

I've done some preliminary research on this topic, but – crucially – I don't have a gym available to me. I originally thought I should just start running to lose weight, but some people say running can be bad if you're trying to form a feminine physique. I think their claim was: you lose weight, but you might also lose fat/muscle where you want it.

So, what are you folks doing?

  • Yoga?
    • What kind of yoga and where do you source the education materials?
  • At home workouts?
    • Are body weight squats enough?
    • What about glutes?

What about diet? Do y'all drink alcohol at all? I typically eat vegan (80% of the time). How do you manage your diet?

5 comments

  • Get a bike. The bike can be a cheap stand-up indoor thing, a department store special 3x5, or you can go all the way up to setups like mine with a zwift ride for indoor and gravel and road bikes for the outside. You get lean legs, lots of cardio (anti-androgens can mess with your heart, so help it out with a head start!) and they absolutely help with glutes. My BMI went from 32 to 25 in under a year with a bike and running.

    Now that that's out of the way, remember that many of the places you want to become fuller and rounder are primarily fat. Hips are fat. Round cheeks are fat. The chest is mostly fat. Weight cycling is great, but not until you're on HRT. Take advantage of the before time to lose all the fat you can. The longer the brown fat cells are empty, the less likely you are to refill them after you start. You only put net new fat cells in feminine places after starting, so the fewer you have now, the better. Weight cycling (+-5lbs a month or so) works because you try to lose the weight to get the older adipose tissue to be reclaimed, then add the fat to new tissue elsewhere. It takes time. Start now with fewer adipose cells by losing the weight.

    • Any thoughts on stationary bike vs elliptical for cardio? I've got reasonable access to a gym but my knees are very unhappy with a stationary bike.

      • Any cardio is better than no cardio! I have no personal experience with an elliptical, but it should have results somewhere between running and cycling. You should check the adjustability of the stationary bike. If your saddle and bars are in the wrong places, it could contribute to knee pain. I am not a fan of stationary bikes and as such have little experience with adjustments, but the number one reason people complain about muscle and joint pain with bicycles is not getting a proper fit. There are some youtube videos that show how to do a bike fit yourself. I would suggest seeing if the same things exist for a stationary.

  • I do these that I found somewhere:

    Edit: I dunno if that thing about fat is worth thinking about? Maintain your fat if you enjoy having it, and burn it otherwise to a degree that is healthy.

    • Yeah that's fair! I guess I just don't want to lose what little butt I have. I have the classic issue of fat in the belly and not too much elsewhere.