lol It’s obvious with some of these replies that some guys barely read the thread while others actually read it and has some good and honest advice.
Ok, so here is the breakdown:
I realized the reason for the gain around the belly while my overall fat percentage remained relatively stable. I gained a total of 4% bodyfat over the course of 2 and a half months. I didn’t get ‘fat’ I just didn’t like where the fat was gaining was going. (Instead of evenly over my body, it all went to my abdomen and suprailiac.) During this time I also gained a pretty huge amount of muscle which is pretty damn awesome.
Now, I lost half of this 4% I gained at this current point in time. (I started my efforts to lose it about 5 days ago, so this is quick as fuck.) How? Quite simple, I added 2 things to my training while keeping my diet stable. After my heavy lifting I do 20 minutes of conditioning. Similar to how most of the exercise I got involved my abs (surfing requires constant core stabilization, sex is self explanatory for anyone who’s done it right, martial arts is obvious, most if not all of it involves core and abs) I made sure to do core-based work. So no spin-bike. I did 10 minutes of rowing machine followed by 10 minutes of kettlebell snatches. Doing this after lifting heavy, while my metabolism is through the roof, proved very effective. The fact that it stimulated blood flow to the abdominal and oblique region also helped a lot. Fat sizzling away quickly. Best part, it didn’t affect my strength performance, and actually helped with recovery. Today I took my Deadlift from 510lb to 530lb, without even realizing it. (I miscounted the weight when loading the bar, due to the gym having gotten new plates and me just slamming them on there after my previous set of 5, trying not to lose the mental space that the heavy set gave me.) So in the end I figured out that the problem lied in the type of exercise my core was getting didn’t promote blood flow to that region, which affected how much fat was used in that region for energy. (Which would explain why at a caloric deficit I’d lose fat everywhere but there.)
Just btw, I didn’t ‘get fat’. I’d hardly call 11% bodyfat ‘fat’. I just gained fat in the wrong areas. In any case I’m at 9% now, my abs are defined again, and I’m happier than ever with my body. Much more muscle, and almost the same amount of definition as before. I’m going to continue cutting till I’m at 7% then I’ll slowly build again till I get near 10% before cutting down to as lean as possible while keeping my strength up. Oh yea, I’ve been eating slightly more since I changed my training to compensate for the extra work. Just so some of you know, I calculated how much calories I was burning, what my metabolism was, and established the amount I needed to consume, made sure 30-40% of it was from protein (40% in off days due to lower carbohydrates and fats) and that the remainder was split evenly between fats and carbs. Also, I avoided starch as far as I could and focused on getting my carbs from fruits and veggies except on lifting days.
Interesting theory. So all you need to do is get blood flowing to certain areas to lose fat, huh? I don’t even know what to tell you.
I seriously doubt you could reduce your body fat by 2% in 5 days. Its probably water retention. Nothing you are saying here makes much sense. Go read some books on sports nutrition. Or just switch to bodybuilding because you seem to be obsessed with ab definition.
Um…ok , kind of explain why your bodyfat % went up considering you dropped some training volume… would also explain why it was in single digit in the first place.
Side note: Love how only on the internet people act like single digit BF% is the norm. Considering old timers in the know have stated that Arnold won the Mr.O at 8 %.
1: 6’3" at 220lb
2: I didn’t do gym lifts during that time so I wouldn’t know, but within week 1 I was at: 400lb Deadlift
310lb Squat and 200lb Bench. By week 8 I was at 500lb Deadlift, 380lb Squat, 230lb Bench. (Also managed 200lb bench for 5 reps. and 5 reps Squat at 310lb.) Haven’t tested 1rm in 4 weeks though, having done more volume based work at 70-95% 1rm.
3: Ofcourse I have, skinfold measures both done by myself, by one of the trainers at the gym,and a biokineticist.
As for not being able to lose 2% bodyfat in 5 days, my metabolism is primed and my body-fat set point has been around 8% for the past 2 years, so to do from 11% to 9% happens quickly for me, after that it’s far slower. If I had water-retention and that affected my skinfolds that could explain it but the point is my skinfolds have decreased. 4mm less on my abdomen and 4mm less on my suprailiac with the rest staying relatively stable.
So given the nature of your attitude in the last couple posts, sounds like this was one big setup to try and brag about yourself? Stop stroking the ego and worrying about the abs and those numbers may actually grow a bit.
Sorry but I don’t understand all the negativity and suspicion here. Give the guy a chance to prove he is legitimate before disparaging him. We all have different genetic make up and maybe what he saying is truthful. Even though (maybe) we can’t see it happening to ourselves, or the majority of people that we know, there are always individuals who don’t fit within the realm of what we consider to be the norm.
First he says that he got fat because of powerlifting and his diet had nothing to do with it, now he says he reduced bodyfat by 2% - which would equal 5lbs. in his case - in a couple days. It’s not so much that he doesn’t “fit within the realm of what we consider to be the norm”, but what he is saying literally defies scientifically established facts.
Maybe you should actually read the thread before you make comments like that.
Actually 5lb is exactly how much I lost. Whether I had water retention under my skin or whether it was fat or whatever, my skinfold measurements got less (4mm less on abdomen, 8mm less on suprailiac, 2mm less on legs, and about 1-1.5mm on all other sites.). Maybe it was because of measuring it different times of the day or because of being pumped the one time and not the next, there are a whole lot of possible confounding factors. The point is that my skinfolds got far less where I wanted them to get less by adding full body conditioning that has a pump-type effect on my core, compared to the normal heavy stabilization required for the main powerlifts. I doubt I would have had the same effect doing planks or other stabilization based core exercises. For all I know some the fat wasn’t burned but simply got moved and became visceral fat instead of subcutaneous fat. I have no way of testing this. All I can do is take my measurements. But one thing I’ve noticed is that there is a huge air of negativity on this entire forum, and I frankly feel like I’m done with it. I’m at the point of sticking to the articles and the forum can fly.
If you ask stupid questions you will get stupid answers. You don’t want to listen to anyone’s advice, so there is no point in you asking for help anyway.
When I have to sift through a pile of downtalk and negativity and bullshit to find the ‘advice’ then no I don’t feel like listening to so called ‘advice’.
I’m glad the authors on the site aren’t all pricks like you guys. They actually give advice.
