Pedro Sampaio

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.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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 🧵

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

First outdoor run since I was a kid.
Started too fast and paid for it.
7km anyway.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

5 years in the gym. It felt like no progress.
Same weights every week, and I never missed a session.
What changed? A notes app.
Now I have a number to beat every session.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

What felt like your limit one week become one more rep the next.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

A 3-day plan you follow beats a perfect 6-day programme you quit.

How many days a week do you train?

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

The 3-step starting weight test:
1. Pick a weight you can lift for 10-12 reps
2. Losing a rep or two by your last set is normal
3. Hit 12 reps on every set? Go heavier next session

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

@MannOhneListe Perfectly said.

You don't recover from TRUE failure in only 2 minutes

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

When you're starting out, every session hits hard.

You'll be sore for days. Add a full workday on top and it's miserable.

But if you rest a day or two between sessions, you'll still be training in month six.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

I used to tell myself I'd remember last session's weights and reps. I couldn't remember what I ate for lunch the day before.

Every week was the same weights, same reps, same exercises. Same training every week.

Why would anything change?

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

Last week on the bench, that final rep was all I had.
This week, I did one more.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

Fat loss doesn't require extra cardio.

Swapping regular soda for zero is one way to cut calories without adding cardio time.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

@realTigerLiang Your DMs are closed, so I can’t send you the plan.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

The trap of programme hopping is feeling like progress while you waste 5 years.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

"I don't have time to train."
You do. Just not 2 hours.
3 days of 20 minutes is your entry point.

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

In 6 weeks the mirror won't show it. The log will.

"Impatience with actions, patience with results."
– Naval

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

Your meals have 2 jobs
Give you at least 20g of protein
And calories to fuel your workout
Hit them daily

[Pedro Sampaio @scriptfstrength]

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