So, my $0.02 on this, from the POV of "I'll never pass" + not currently on hormones.
First, over at
t-nation.com, there's an article that states, "Jogging is the best form of non-surgical gender transition..." Think of what runners look like, especially marathoners. I'd say LSD (Long, slow, Distance) is the way to go for our purposes there.
Second, lots of people have transitioned, and T-Nation has a GREAT interview with Janae Kroc - Male (now female) bodybuilder.
https://www.t-nation.com/living/kroc-from-matt-to-janaeLast, I'd think the best option is what everyone has to do in life: Set your goals, find out how to reach them, execute; then, re-evaluate along the way.
Using myself as an example, finances suck - so HRT isn't really an option (nor even herbs or such, and an unsupportive "female" in the mix who is more "butch" than a male Marine Drill Instructor; so, everything is a fight.)
So how do I manage, being 235 and in a high-stress job and a second job at night (her)?
Working out helps. If nothing else, make the body and mind too tired to exert the energy. I make it fit by doing corrective therapies right now (Neanderthal no more program on t-Nation again.) The goals are: Lose weight; Get posture correct; avoid building big muscles that I need to lose later.
So far, the lifting program is working GREAT. I'm an IT guy - I didn't realize how bad my posture had become. It's waking up a LOT of tired, weak, inflexible muscles. So I'll walk and move more efficiently, and I'm not building mass.
Second, I'm losing weight. Ketogenic diet helps, but only because my FIRST objective is to to retain muscle mass until I'm about 20% body fat (high normal for a woman; currently at 34%).
Last, I'm learning what will work, and why. I doubt people here want to get into it, but men and women are VERY different, no matter what the Lib/Equalists want to say. I mean, if men and women were the same, why would WE exist, right? Beyond that, though, I mean: Men and women process energy differently, lift differently, move differently, think differently, etc. So I need to build what I can ASAP, because otherwise, I WILL get to HRT, and I won't have the muscle - and I'll still have the (male pattern deposited) fat. PLUS, I'll have issues building the body I want. So the more compensatory movement I deal with now, the better. For example: Instead of normal back squats, I'm doing Front Squats and Split Squats and Walking Lunges. I can rear-squat 240 + my 240# body weight as of that time. I'm now doing walking lunges with 20# dumbbells, and it (CENSORED) HURTS! But my legs look MUCH better! I look human instead of like a Bodybuilder Reject. Weight is WAY down, but making the body work better and grow a more flexible, yet strong set of muscles? Priceless, regardless of anything else. And in the mean time, I'm adding to my butt, too, which affects how I walk (making it more feminine). The tightened muscles make a pull across the butt - makes the hips roll a bit.
As a last add-on to that, I'd suggest including the Agile 8 warmup. Most importantly the foam rolling and piriformis release on a tennis ball. It remodeled my quads into something resembling muscle; they'd pass for stone a few weeks back!
And using similar techniques, you can remodel the arms (roll a barbell down those muscles), the back (foam roll or tennis ball roll on the back), shoulders (tennis ball), quads and calves (can roll with a rolling pin, too!) Plus, while rolling around, you're building smaller muscles in the shoulders.
Once I can get in HIIT (mobilize fat) and process the means to burn it (LSD cardio) or re-store it (Fat is preferentially stored in hips and butt and breasts for women, so with estrogen...) Soften the muscles, improve the tendons (heavy lifting now and then, lots of time between; I have a theory that women use more tendon strength in their lifting than men do. fits with estrogen's effects on tendons and joints, BTW.), loosen the tight soft tissues, let time do the rest, by controlling how you work out.... Best of both worlds, maybe?
Meantime, it's keeping me semi-sane, and building towards the smaller body form I wanted all along. (I'm one of those who got fat eating good foods. Half-pound of meat, or half a chicken per meal, is WAY too much, especially with carby veggies and then add in some goodies like alcohol...? The extra is bad, the sugars are worse, the result is a mess. My target is 155, if I JUST lose fat. When I get the BF% down, I can lose muscle, too, and then I can start to be happy with the body... MAYBE!
)
-Dianna
