Bibek, 22 · Engineering student · Mid-Baneshwor
24 weeks: 56.8 kg to 63.4 kg, and from no pull-ups to eight
Bibek had been stuck at 57 kg for two years. In 24 weeks he gained 6.6 kg, doubled his bench press and went from no pull-ups to eight, on food that cost him less than eating out.
- Trainer: Arjun Thapa
- Personal training plan
- 24 weeks
BeforeWeek 1AfterWeek 24Before and after
Gained 6.6 kg in 24 weeks
Stuck at 57 kg for two years while “eating a lot”. The fix was a food plan he could afford on a student budget.
- Started
- 22 March 2026
- Length
- 24 weeks
- Trainer
- Arjun Thapa
- Plan
- Personal training
Measured from March 2026 to September 2026, 24 weeks
- Body weight
- 56.8 kg63.4 kg
- Gym scale, every 4 weeks
- Pull-ups
- 08
- Dead hang, chin over the bar
- Bench press
- 30 kg60 kg
- 5 clean reps
- Upper arm
- 27 cm30.5 cm
- Tape, relaxed, same trainer
Before
Where Bibek started
Bibek is in his third year of civil engineering. He is 1.75 m tall and had weighed 56 to 57 kg since school. His friends called him skinny, and he hated photos.
He had lifted with friends on and off for a year, copying videos, and told everyone he ate a lot. He didn’t gain a kilo.
The turning point
The free session
Arjun asked him to write down everything he had eaten the day before. It came to about 1,900 calories and 50 g of protein: two plates of dal bhat, chiya and a packet of noodles.
He tested a 30 kg bench press for five and couldn’t do a single pull-up. He joined on the Personal training plan for six months.
The plan
The plan Arjun wrote
Nothing clever. Eat more, on purpose, and lift heavier, slowly.
- Four sessions a week at 7 PM after classes: two with Arjun, two on his own from the written plan.
- A food plan from Ritu for about 2,800 calories and 95 g of protein a day, about 1.6 g per kg.
- Four eggs at breakfast, a glass of milk twice a day, and soybean or chana in every dal.
- Pull-ups with a band from week 1, the band getting thinner every few weeks.
- Weight every Sunday on the same scale, aiming for about 0.25 kg a week.
How it went
Week by week
Week 1
Eating on purpose
The hardest part wasn’t the gym. It was the fourth egg and the second glass of milk. He set alarms for both.
Week 8
First pull-up
One pull-up without the band, then two. 59.7 kg, up 2.9 kg.
Week 16
The tape moved
61.8 kg, a 50 kg bench press for five, and 2 cm on his upper arm.
Week 24
Eight pull-ups
63.4 kg, a 60 kg bench press for five and eight pull-ups from a dead hang.
The result
What changed in 24 weeks
Bibek gained 6.6 kg in 24 weeks, about 0.27 kg a week, the slow pace the plan aimed for. His bench press doubled from 30 kg to 60 kg.
His food cost him less than before, because eggs, milk and soybean replaced noodles and canteen snacks.
“I thought I ate a lot. I ate a lot of rice.”
Most skinny lads who can’t gain weight are eating far less protein than they think. We counted for one day, and the problem was obvious.
Arjun Thapa, strength trainer
What it cost
NPR 15,000 a month, on the Personal training plan
Today’s price, as of 28 October 2026. Gym + classes, with your own trainer for 12 sessions a month.
Build muscle with a trainer: how it works and what to expect
Who a plan like this suits
A good fit if
- You have been the same weight for years however much you think you eat.
- You can train four times a week.
- You want a food plan that works on a student budget.
Not a fit if
- You want to gain 10 kg in two months. That gain would be mostly fat.
- You already know what to eat and how to lift. The Gym plan is NPR 4,500 a month.
