Your script for the first 3 years of lifting. Build muscle and lose fat around a full-time job, 3 days a week. What works, what's a myth, what to skip.
Joined September 2022
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I wasted my first 5 years in the gym.
No structure. No tracking. Ate whatever.
Zero progressive overload.
Here's the script I wish I'd followed 🧵
The 3-step gym return:
1. Schedule your first session, without guilt.
2. Ease back in with 2 sets per exercise.
3. Plan 3 training days around this week's commitments.
Fat loss doesn't require extra cardio.
Swapping regular soda for zero is one way to cut calories without adding cardio time.
How I deload every 6–8 weeks:
- I do 1–2 sets per exercise.
- I keep the weights light.
- I leave feeling like I could do more.
Of course your programme didn't work. It ignored your:
-5pm meeting that always overruns by 2 hours
-Dinner still to cook
-Deadline brought forward 4 days
Common fitness advice, translated:
❌ Train hard
✅ Leave 1 or 2 reps in reserve
❌ Eat more protein
✅ Eat protein at every meal to hit 1.6 g/kg
❌ Be consistent
✅ Hit your 3 days, no matter which days
In 6 weeks the mirror won't show it. The log will.
"Impatience with actions, patience with results."
– Naval
Your meals have 2 jobs
Give you at least 20g of protein
And calories to fuel your workout
Hit them daily
Lessons from 10 years of lifting:
Track your lifts and food
Plan your workouts or they won't happen
Add a rep or weight every week
Deload every 6-8 weeks
One miss doesn't matter
Show up for your gym buddies
This is not a summer project
Lifting keeps you sane
You stare at your laptop. Same line, third time.
You can't stop yawning.
First coffee. Then a monster. Then a pre-workout at 2pm.
You don't need a stronger drink. You need sleep
Myths to skip:
Creatine wrecks your kidneys. It doesn't.
You can burn fat from one spot. You can't.
Sore = growing. It doesn't mean that.
That's the script for your first 3 years.
It took me 5 to learn it. You don't have to.
Every week I break down one rule. Evidence, no hype.
Follow @scriptfstrength. What year are you in? 👇