I weigh 150 lbs and have been bodybuilding seriously for about 7 months (lifting casually for about a year). I have put on ~15 pounds since I started and I am currently training with an Antagonist split (from USC’s clinique) and cardio (jog) once a week.
I have been having trouble getting definition in my stomach. Since I am putting on weight (with fatty foods, a lot of the time), I have lost my bottom two abs. I have been getting stronger, but I want to maintain an appealing stomach at the same time.
Is it better for me as an ecto to train abs every day of the week or 2-3 days hard? Also, should I do more than one day of cardio a week? The problem is that when I try to burn fat I lose weight, opposite of my goal. Should I eliminate fatty foods (mayo, etc) from my diet? If so, won’t it be hard for me to gain weight?
Check out the build and burn article that Mike Rousell wrote. That’ll help with the diet portion. As for the Abdominal work, there’s no such thing as spot reduction! I’ve got pictures from when I was extremely lean with six pack abs and all I did was 3 sets of 15 reps once per week for abs. Focus on your diet. You may also want to check out Chad Waterbury’s 10/10 physique transformation e-book.
I always read about people having their best six packs when they do minimal ab workouts. But doesn’t training my abs more make my muscles stronger so that even if they do not look better, they are harder when flexed?
Basically the summary is that it’s more diet than workout, I suppose. That being said, I began to drink whole milk to help me gain weight. Should I eliminate fatty things like this from my diet if I am to define my abs more? Also, I am going to add another cardio. I was thinking some pyometrics because it would also help strengthen my legs.
Thanks again for the responses, it is all greatly appreciated.
[quote]Quinnthology wrote:
I always read about people having their best six packs when they do minimal ab workouts. But doesn’t training my abs more make my muscles stronger so that even if they do not look better, they are harder when flexed?
Basically the summary is that it’s more diet than workout, I suppose. That being said, I began to drink whole milk to help me gain weight. Should I eliminate fatty things like this from my diet if I am to define my abs more? Also, I am going to add another cardio. I was thinking some pyometrics because it would also help strengthen my legs.
Thanks again for the responses, it is all greatly appreciated. [/quote]
86 the milk all together! I can’t remember where I read it, but it was probably somewhere on this site… Milk is actually high on the Insulin Index, meaning more insulin is realeased as a result of its consuption, leading to fat gain.
As for the abs, focus on your diet first. When the weight starts coming off if the abs aren’t really starting to show, then start adding in more abdominal exercise, just make sure to balance out lower back exercises for postural reasons.
On to the plyometrics… They’ll help more with your power development rather than shear strength, but they will still be a great addition to your program. Check out the book High Powered Plyometrics by James Radcliff (sp?). It has great insight into that realm and easy to incorporate programs.
Thanks for the continued support arosett, also thanks to bmitch for pitching in some good insight.
I am on a high-carb diet right now, basically eating all the pasta and bread I can, especially after workouts. I need to put on the pounds for the six pack to actually show well, I have been told. I need to put weight on to help build muscle. I am doing the workout from USC’s physique clinic right now, and somewhat following his diet.
So, the point is that I need to gain weight first and foremost. I just want to lose fat while doing it. I’m not sure if this is too much of a possibility…
I drink milk in the mornings with a sandwich right now, and occasionally at night. It saves me money so I don’t have to buy extra overpriced shake powders. If I need to drop milk, what could I supplant it with?
If you don’t have a six pack, and you need to gain weight, you need to gain weight to get a six pack. When I was super skinny, (150lbs) I didn’t even have a trace of a six pack even though you could see my ribs. I weight 175 lbs now and I have a visible 6 pack even though I’m not cut.
[quote]Quinnthology wrote:
Thanks for the continued support arosett, also thanks to bmitch for pitching in some good insight.
I am on a high-carb diet right now, basically eating all the pasta and bread I can, especially after workouts. I need to put on the pounds for the six pack to actually show well, I have been told. I need to put weight on to help build muscle. I am doing the workout from USC’s physique clinic right now, and somewhat following his diet.
So, the point is that I need to gain weight first and foremost. I just want to lose fat while doing it. I’m not sure if this is too much of a possibility…
I drink milk in the mornings with a sandwich right now, and occasionally at night. It saves me money so I don’t have to buy extra overpriced shake powders. If I need to drop milk, what could I supplant it with?
[/quote]
An egg white omelet would be the best substitution for milk. There are plenty of other alternatives though… Costco sells an EAS Protein blend that’s not too pricey if you’d rather try a shake, but when money is not an issue, Biotest is hands down the best.
Any dairy or bread wheat products are going to be hypoallergenic cut em out. In order to lose fat you have to spare one macronutrient carbs or fat. Still calories have to be kept in a deficit.
[quote]Quinnthology wrote:
Thanks for the continued support arosett, also thanks to bmitch for pitching in some good insight.
I am on a high-carb diet right now, basically eating all the pasta and bread I can, especially after workouts. I need to put on the pounds for the six pack to actually show well, I have been told. I need to put weight on to help build muscle. I am doing the workout from USC’s physique clinic right now, and somewhat following his diet.
So, the point is that I need to gain weight first and foremost. I just want to lose fat while doing it. I’m not sure if this is too much of a possibility…
I drink milk in the mornings with a sandwich right now, and occasionally at night. It saves me money so I don’t have to buy extra overpriced shake powders. If I need to drop milk, what could I supplant it with?
[/quote]
Despite all that I have read on this site, I have never been able to put on muscle whilst loosing fat. In my opinion us skinny men are far better off bulking properly , then cutting. I am not saying you become a tub of lard but don’t get scared if you put on a little fat. The way I always think about it is that it takes months and years to put on decent amounts of muscle yet it only takes weeks to loose decent amounts of fat.
P.s. I would not drop the milk unless you are lactose intolerant . Full cream milk is a handy between meal snack and in my opinion the greatest post workout meal is a huge bowl of instant oats soaked in low fat milk.
What I have been doing the past few months, & which is working better than I could ever imagined is calorie cycling. I got the gist of it from an article by Kelly Baggett. Basically you alternate mass gaining (buliking), & fat loss phases(cutting), though there are lots of ways you can do this. I’ve been eating for mass gain for 10 days, then 4 days for fat loss and then repeat. Again, within this system there are lots of ways you could set it up depending on how you react to different macronutrients etc.
[quote]drewh wrote:
Any dairy or bread wheat products are going to be hypoallergenic cut em out. In order to lose fat you have to spare one macronutrient carbs or fat. Still calories have to be kept in a deficit.[/quote]
I agree with this guy. It’s foolish to eat tons of bread after your workout. Eat a couple oranges instead for your post workout carbs. Also you can’t gain weight while in a caloric deficit, you need to pick fat loss (for your 6 pack) or gaining weight. The most important aspect of a six pack is low bf%.
And almost everybody is allergic to milk to some degree; even if you don’t notice a response from your body like bad gas or loose stool, it will still increase cortisol and reduce your muscle gains. If you feel like you NEED dairy then try yogurt, the lactose is removed by the bacteria required to culture the yogurt.
Okay so I have dropped milk and bread (for the most part). I’m focusing on a ton of protein, carbs in other forms besides bread and healthy fats. Two questions:
Can I continue to eat peanut butter? I bought a healthy brand and it is still very fatty.
this thread has immense potential. A guy is training for 7 months, clearly does not know the difference between natural PB and saturated fat…has gained 15 pounds and is already worried about his six-pack vanishing, AND he is receiving priceless advice from other “gain lean muscle with NO fat gain” enthusiasts. HAve fun spinning your wheels, youngblood.
PS: read RITjared’s newbie thread on bulking before doing anything else.
Whatever…Obsess over the difference between skim and whole milk and micro-control your nutrients post workout. I;m out of here. I hope some senior members chime in to help this kid out.
I decided to start a carb cycling diet. I read several articles from this site about it and the idea of getting lean while continuing to add muscle sounded perfect for me. I went to Sam’s Club and loaded up on starchy carbs, grilled chicken and tons of fruit. I am also taking pills of healthy fats (fish oil, flax seed oil, CLA sunflower seed oil), and so that is why I’m not sure if I should add the healthy fats of peanut butter to my diet.
My only question is: High starch days are the only days I can have breakfast starches on (which I eat oatmeal for). What should I eat on the other days? So far I have 43g of protein and fruit.
I added two days of HIIT, two days of go-until-sick cardio, and maintain one day of casual cardio (basketball game every saturday). I still body build 4 days a week, with cluster training.
I think this diet will be good for me, I feel better already and it has only been a couple of days.
[quote]Quinnthology wrote:
I weigh 150 lbs and have been bodybuilding seriously for about 7 months (lifting casually for about a year). I have put on ~15 pounds since I started and I am currently training with an Antagonist split (from USC’s clinique) and cardio (jog) once a week.
I have been having trouble getting definition in my stomach. Since I am putting on weight (with fatty foods, a lot of the time), I have lost my bottom two abs. I have been getting stronger, but I want to maintain an appealing stomach at the same time.
Is it better for me as an ecto to train abs every day of the week or 2-3 days hard? Also, should I do more than one day of cardio a week? The problem is that when I try to burn fat I lose weight, opposite of my goal. Should I eliminate fatty foods (mayo, etc) from my diet? If so, won’t it be hard for me to gain weight?
Thanks for any input[/quote]
im a ecto too and this is my advice. keep gaining weight and dont worry about your abs. make sure you do heavy squats and deads and standing excersises versus sitting whenever you can. after you add the mass then worry about dieting down…your abs will be there you just have to uncover them later…im starting to lose mine and i see the beginning of love handles…who cares as long as everything else is growing etco’s one main advantage is that we can lean up whenever we desire…the weight gain and muscle gain is the hard part…
BTW, if you say your following USC’s program and diet…didnt you notice he put on some fat himself ?..
from your logs, what is your output like?
Do you bench? How much then, how much 6 weeks ago, how much now?
Squat? same questions
Deadlift? same
Chin? same
If you probe your midsection, is there muscle there?
People extra lean worry about “seeing their six pack” yet are not getting stronger and don’t have the muscle to show. Stop chasing butterflies. Train mean and intense and heavy and often. Heavier, more intense tomorrow.
[quote]Quinnthology wrote:
I decided to start a carb cycling diet. I read several articles from this site about it and the idea of getting lean while continuing to add muscle sounded perfect for me. I went to Sam’s Club and loaded up on starchy carbs, grilled chicken and tons of fruit. I am also taking pills of healthy fats (fish oil, flax seed oil, CLA sunflower seed oil), and so that is why I’m not sure if I should add the healthy fats of peanut butter to my diet.
My only question is: High starch days are the only days I can have breakfast starches on (which I eat oatmeal for). What should I eat on the other days? So far I have 43g of protein and fruit.
I added two days of HIIT, two days of go-until-sick cardio, and maintain one day of casual cardio (basketball game every saturday). I still body build 4 days a week, with cluster training.
I think this diet will be good for me, I feel better already and it has only been a couple of days.[/quote]
I like the idea of carb cycling to prevent too much fat gain while on a mass building cycle, but don’t get so caught up in maintaining your abs. I’m planning on putting on some serious weight myself and will be following a carb cycling diet to prevent too much fat gain, but the fact remains that I’ll only be dropping my carbs and cals two days/wk.
I’m gonna have to agree with most others on this thread, for us ectos it is very easy to drop that unwanted bodyfat, but gaining quality mass is where the challenge is at. Good luck!
Here’s the deal: You’re 150 pounds, and unless you’re a midget, you’re probably underweight by even your own standards. You shouldn’t even be thinking about your abs at this point. Go gain mass first,and I better not be hearing any references about Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
I started my first bulk at your weight, a few months ago, and have made immense inroads with regards to mass gain. All it takes is tons of eating and working HARD, with big compounds.
Remember, weight gain is easy at first, but after a little while, it comes down to your mentality for pushing the rest of it.