3-day push/pull/legs split + daily walking + sensory-friendly meal plan. Built around an existing home gym, autism-related texture sensitivities, and acid-reflux constraints (no high-impact cardio).
4-day split: Mon Push · Tue Pull · Wed Legs (minimal) · Thu Rest · Fri Upper Volume · Sat Rest · Sun Rest. Wednesday is an intentionally short, 3-exercise session because legs aren't a stated goal — just enough to capture the indirect benefits (fat loss, posture, core) without becoming the workout you skip. Friday repeats chest, shoulders, and back with different exercises and lighter loads, hitting your priority muscles twice a week.
Form cue: Feet planted firm, slight arch in lower back, shoulder blades pinched and pulled toward butt. Bar touches just below nipple line, presses up to over upper chest. Wrists stay stacked over elbows the whole time.
Form cue: Set bench to 30–45° (steeper hits front delts more than upper chest). Bar touches mid-chest. Same scapular setup as flat bench — pinched and pulled down. Drive feet into floor.
Form cue: Bar rests on front delts at chest level, elbows just in front of bar. Squeeze glutes, brace core. Press straight up — pull head back briefly to clear chin, then move head forward through the gap. Lock out overhead with biceps near ears.
Form cue: Slight forward lean from waist (don't stand bolt upright). Lead with elbows, not hands. Stop just below shoulder height — going higher recruits traps. Imagine pouring out a cup at the top. Don't swing.
Form cue: Hold dumbbell with both hands behind your head, elbows tight to your ears. Lower under control until forearms touch biceps. Press up by extending elbows only — don't let them flare out. Standing or seated both work.
Form cue: Dead-hang start, arms fully straight. Pull yourself up until chin clears the bar. Drive elbows down and back, not flaring out to the sides. No kipping, no swinging, controlled descent. If you can't do bodyweight reps yet, do negatives: jump to top, lower for 5 seconds, repeat.
Form cue: Hinge at hips with slight knee bend, torso 30–45° above parallel. Bar starts hanging at arms' length. Pull bar to lower chest / upper abs. Squeeze shoulder blades together at top. Don't jerk with your back — if you have to swing, the weight is too heavy.
Form cue: Anchor band at face/chest height. Pull band ends past your face, ending with hands by your ears, elbows high (above shoulders). External rotation of shoulders is the goal — like the "most muscular" pose at the end position. Best single exercise for posture.
Form cue: Bend forward 30–45°, arms hanging straight down with slight elbow bend. Raise dumbbells out to sides in a wide arc until at shoulder height. Lead with the back of the elbows. Rear delts do most of the work, not scapular retraction.
Form cue: Stand with bar at hip level, hands shoulder-width with palms up. Keep elbows pinned to your sides. Curl bar up by bending only at the elbow — no swinging hips, no shoulder rotation. Lower under control over 2–3 seconds.
Legs aren't a stated goal — this session is here for the indirect benefits that do support your goals: calorie burn (fat loss), posterior chain strength (posture / "straight shoulders"), and core stability for heavier upper-body lifts. Three exercises, no fluff. Designed for consistency, not optimization — you'll actually do this every week.
Form cue: Hold kettlebell at chest with both hands cradling the bell. Feet shoulder-width or slightly wider, toes turned out 15–20°. Sit back and down, keeping torso upright. Knees track over toes. Drive through whole foot to stand.
Form cue: Bar at thigh level, hinge at hips by pushing butt back, slight knee bend (don't squat). Lower bar along the front of your legs — you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Stop when bar is just below the knee or you start losing your back arch. Drive hips forward to stand.
Form cue: Hang from the bar, dead-hang or with shoulders slightly engaged (not hanging in the joint). Bring knees up toward chest by curling pelvis under (posterior pelvic tilt). Don't just swing legs — the pelvic curl matters more than how high your knees get. Lower under control.
Goblet squats over barbell back squats on purpose: simpler setup, less intimidation, less post-session fatigue. You can swap to barbell back squats later if you want to push leg progress harder — but only after Wednesday has been a no-skip day for 8+ weeks.
No lifting. Daily 5-min posture-band routine and 8–10 k steps still happen. Use the recovery day — legs from Wed and shoulders from Mon are still rebuilding.
Form cue: Same setup as Monday's incline, just at 60–75% of Mon's working weight. Higher reps, less load. The point is to accumulate volume on the upper chest without trashing the same muscle fibers.
Form cue: Same as overhand pull-ups but palms facing you. Easier than overhand — biceps assist the lats. Hits a slightly different muscle pattern, especially the lower lats and biceps. Same dead-hang to chin-over-bar form rules apply.
Form cue: Bench at slight decline angle. Bar touches lower chest (lower than flat bench, higher than your stomach). Shorter range of motion than flat. Useful when shoulders feel beat up from too much overhead/incline work.
Form cue: Same as Monday's lateral raises but more reps with the same 15 lb dumbbell. Slight forward lean, lead with elbows, stop just below shoulder height. The volume here is for the "broad shoulders" goal — lateral delts respond well to high frequency and reps.
Form cue: Same form as Tuesday — band anchored at face/chest height, pull past your face with elbows high, end with hands by your ears. Higher rep range here because face pulls are recovery-friendly and benefit from frequency for posture.
Form cue: Hold dumbbells with palms facing each other (neutral grip, like holding hammers). Curl up the same way as a bicep curl. Hits the brachialis — the muscle beneath the biceps that makes arms look fuller from the side.
Friday's session emphasizes your priorities — shoulders (lateral raises, face pulls), pecs (incline + decline), and posture (face pulls, pull-ups). Loads are slightly lighter than Mon since muscles are mid-recovery.
No lifting either day. Daily 5-min band routine and 8–10 k steps continue. If a session earlier in the week felt exhausting, take that day as rest instead — the program is the floor of activity, not a contract.
This is the highest-leverage habit for the "straight shoulders" goal. Skip nothing else; do this.
8,000 steps minimum, 10,000 if possible. Spread throughout the day. Walking is the only cardio that won't trigger reflux. The belly-fat goal is won here, not in the gym.
The "2,000 calories" rule on nutrition labels is a generic FDA reference, not personalized. Your actual numbers, based on 6'4", 230 lb, lifting 4×/week + 8–10k steps daily:
| Component | What it is | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| BMR | Just being alive at your size (Mifflin-St Jeor formula) | ~2,100 |
| Daily activity | 8–10k steps, fidgeting, work, life movement | +400–600 |
| Workout | 4× lifting/week, averaged across all 7 days | +200–300 |
| TDEE total | What you burn in a day | ~2,800–3,200 |
Eating 2,300 cal/day creates a deficit of ~700–900 cal vs your TDEE. The deficit spectrum:
| If you eat | Deficit vs TDEE | Weekly result |
|---|---|---|
| 3,000 cal | 0 | Maintenance (no loss) |
| 2,500 cal | −500 | ~1 lb / week (slow, sustainable) |
| 2,300 cal (the plan) | −700 to −900 | ~1.5–2 lb / week (right zone) |
| 2,000 cal | −1,000 to −1,200 | ~2–2.5 lb / week (too aggressive at your size) |
| 1,500 cal | −1,500+ | ~3+ lb / week (severe — muscle loss, hunger, failure) |
Recalculate when bodyweight changes by 10+ lb. As you lose weight, BMR drops slightly and the deficit shrinks at the same calorie intake. At 200 lb, your TDEE drops to ~2,600–3,000 and the same 2,300 target only produces a 300–700 cal deficit — still losing, just slower. That's a normal and expected slowdown, not a stall.
Built around a small + small + large eating pattern: small breakfast, small protein-forward lunch, large dinner as the main meal of the day. Eating the same meals every day is fine and probably optimal — easier to track, easier to shop, easier on the brain.
Avoid blender-mixed slurries and dishes where ingredients lose their distinct identity.
Cook vegetables until just tender. Overcooked = mushy = texture problem.
If genuinely hungry mid-afternoon: 3 oz beef jerky and a handful of cashews. Don't push through real hunger — small snack is cheaper than overeating at dinner.
Rotate the side vegetable across the week for micronutrient variety. The pasta + ground beef base stays the same every day.
| Supplement | Dose | Purpose | Cost / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine monohydrate (powder) | 5 g/day in water | Muscle / strength | $5 |
| Magnesium glycinate | 300–400 mg before bed | Sleep + transit | $10 |
| Vitamin D3 | 2,000–4,000 IU/day | General health | $5 |
| Fish oil (EPA/DHA) | 1 g/day | Omega-3s — covers gap from no fatty fish in daily diet | $8 |
| Whey protein (only if needed) | 1–2 scoops/day | Hit protein target | $30 |
Creatine gummies on hand are fine for now — finish them, then switch to powder for cost. Skip pre-workout, BCAAs, fat burners, test boosters — none of them matter for these goals.
Anchored around a 5 PM post-work workout, with dinner at 6 PM serving as the post-workout recovery meal and an 11 PM bed time. The 5-hour gap between dinner start and sleep is the reflux margin — protect it.
Daily on every day, including rest days: 5-min band routine, 8–10 k steps, hit protein target.