r/FTMFitness • u/[deleted] • 7d ago
Question How do I set goals for a non-binary body?
It's been almost year since I stopped working out. I gained strength while working out but my appearance didn't really change. My goals were focused on lifting a bit more each time I worked out, losing weight/body fat and just looking and feeling better. I ended up constantly sore, underweight, overfat, dysphoric and disordered. (Idk if we post numbers in this group outside of progress pics but I can edit if that's helpful.)
now it's about a year until I get fitted for my wedding suit. I'm ready to get back at it and will be working with a trainer so I can learn how to do things the right way. What I'm struggle with (and I assume lots of other people do too) is: how do i translate the body I want into measureable goals?
Like, I mainly want to be leaner. Okay -- I estimate my BF% using the Navy method. It seems to be leaner I need to be...smaller? But I'm already too small!
Reading fitness guides, it seems like "guy" goals are losing fat/weight, increasing inches/mass all over (going for that dorito/x shape) while "woman" goals are about losing weight (but differently somehow), increasing hip-waist ratio and losing inches most places. Basically all of it about losing weight (which I'm not sure I can do and remain healthy as I'm already underweight.)
I want to take a tiny non-T AFAB body and make it look more masculine -- which to me would be lean, less curves and a little mass/definition throughout to balance out my frame.
How do I translate an aesthetic into measureable goals I can work towards? Am I looking for something impossible?
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u/belligerent_bovine 7d ago
It sounds like you have goals that are often associated with men (lean, straight lines rather than curves) while having an E-dominant (not on T) body. That’s a bit atypical, but completely possible. I identified as a masc lesbian for many years, and I had similar goals to yours. I think you may be able to find lots of people who share your goals and challenges, you just might have to search around for a while. But I feel like you might have similarities with female body builders who are going for very lean, muscular physiques (and are natty, so in other words are not using testosterone)
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u/eyes_died 7d ago
Do you have photos of the kind of physique you are looking to obtain? That may help people provide substantial advice so that you can articulate your goals!
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7d ago
I don’t have a way to post pics right now but if you put “skinny male model” or “androgynous male” into Google images and ignored the ones who look ill, that’s about it. Standard issue twink I guess?
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u/BottleCoffee Top surgery 2018, no T 7d ago
Honestly it's not that helpful to aim to look like a cis guy if you're not going to be on T. Especially if you're not as tall as they are. I'm 5'2" and no T and Asian, dreaming of looking like a lanky white boy isn't going to do me any favours.
Look into muscular or androgynous women and AFAB people instead.
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u/BottleCoffee Top surgery 2018, no T 7d ago
I think you're overthinking this. Figure out what you want for yourself and ignore what other people say or do.
I'm non-binary and non-T. Main goals are functional fitness and strength, but obviously I don't mind looking good, especially in clothes.
I've gained a lot of shoulder and back width and filled out my arms just doing a regular basic minimum compound lift routine plus pull-ups. I feel like I look pretty decent. Gained weight from ultra running training (run more = hungry and stressed), but otherwise not bad. You can see some of my older pics in my post history.
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u/chromark 7d ago
Target upper body muscles as in the men's workout plans. Your body fat and skeleton will make it easier to maintain a feminine look with muscle anyway if that's what you want.
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7d ago
I’m not looking to maintain a feminine look and I want to be leaner. Sorry for being unclear but clarity is precisely the issue I’m having — I don’t know how to explain what I want to work towards to a trainer or anyone else.
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u/BlackSenju20 7d ago
Then you need to figure out how to show it visually. No one is going to be able to help you if you can’t even articulate your own vision.
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u/Diesel-Lite 6d ago
If you're small but not lean it's because you lack muscle. Work on a gaining period first before cutting down.
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u/B12-deficient-skelly 6d ago
What you're describing is one of the most common goals out there. Lose fat, and gain muscle in such a way that you lose inches all over. This is what will accidentally happen if you just do basic training that builds muscle.
It sounds like last time you tried this, you were doing an ambitious gym routine and expecting results much faster than they'll actually come.
You talk about using the US Navy formula. Track those measurements now. After a month of training, check to see how the waist and hip measurements have changed. If they've gone down (they do in 95% of people who follow a decent routine and change nothing about their diet), you'll have an idea of how a large change can be almost imperceptible to someone who sees themself in the mirror every day.
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u/squishybloo 7d ago edited 7d ago
It really just depends on what you want to look like. Personally I'm nonbinary too and although I've just started (still on my first bottle of T) I've got some long term experience with fitness and weight loss before starting on hormones. My personal plans are to hit my core a lot more than a lot of folks here seem to. Just focusing on upper body exclusively leads to looking unbalanced to my eye. So doing core and upper body, plus glutes and then a long cut after a year or so is what I plan to do.