I am 24 yrs 6 feet 168 lbs 33 inch waist skinny arms skinny legs if I were to let myself go I would primarily gain weight in my mid section (common with the men in my family, all skinny with a belly).
I have been consistently working out for the past 3 months with the goal of gaining a little muscle mass, at least where the average man won’t be able to wrap his fingers around my arm. I have been on a 3-4 day lifting cycle with low reps and heavy weights, doing compound exercises, taking appropriate breaks, and little to no cardio work.
I keep track of everything I do and how many times I do it. Nutrition wise I have tried to increase my caloric intake in order to stimulate muscle growth, I averaged about 2500-2900 pretty much healthy calories a day. Also I drank a whey protein shake after every workout.
I started out 157 lbs 32 inch waist, now I am 168 33 inch waist. I would say that 11 pounds went all to my midsection. Now my stomach (which didn’t look good in the first place, a small pooch) is now worse. People who haven’t seen me in 3 months say I have gotten fatter and would never believe I have been working out the entire summer.
Big picture wise I understand I was going to gain weight while trying to bulk up a little, then ultimately go on a cutting phase and be where I want to be. However, there’s no noticeable difference in the size of my arms, chest, or any of the parts you want to gain muscle in. I know 3 months isn’t long to be working out, but I shouldn’t look worse and have no noticeable muscle gains.
Is there anything I can do? Or am I stuck with this E.T. look forever? Please help.
Routine looks ok, if you’ve been following consistently the problem is VERY likely diet.
Try to eat very often, small meals (every ~3 hours, 6-8 meals per day). Try to get a total of 0.7-1g protein per lbs of bodyweight per day. Eat protein with every meal, try to avoid mixing carbs and fat in the same meal (e.g. either carbs+protein or fat+protein), try to get carbs during the first half of the day plus pre and post workout, fats the second half of the day. Start with a big breakfast.
Just to get to the point, the reason you have a “belly” despite being relitavely skinny is probably because you have so little size on your upperbody that your stomach looks large compared to it. You ever seen a picture of an ethiopian child without a shirt? They are deathly skinny yet have large stomachs, it is because of this illusion.
The program looks pretty solid, but any program is only as good as the effort you put into it. I haven’t seen you lift, so I can’t really comment, but it’s something to think about.
Lifting with heavy weights and low reps is good for building maximal strength, but not so good for hypertrophy or fat loss. Since those two seem to be your biggest concern, I’d recommend going with lower weights and something like 10-12 reps.
If you’re looking to drop some fat quickly, the V-Diet or a variant is magic. The anabolic diet also come strongly recommended, and is a much better long-term solution, since you can use it to cut and build, often at the same time. Regardless, eat fewer carbs; ideally, less than 50 grams per day, six days a week, with a one-day carb up.
You calories also seem a bit high. Maintenance calories should be around bodyweight times 15, which is about what you take in on a low day. To lose weight, you want to be eating more like bodyweight times 12, or 2000 calories a day, give or take.
[quote]That One Guy wrote:
ever seen a picture of an ethiopian child without a shirt? They are deathly skinny yet have large stomachs, it is because of this illusion.[/quote]
No, they don’t look like they have huge stomachs because of small upper bodies. They have big stomachs because they get inadequate amounts of protein and their bodies break down the sources of protein from their bodies. They get fluid filled areas within the body cavities and this is what contributes to the larger bellies, I believe.
I’m sure this guy isn’t getting to the point he’s breaking down his own body as a starving individual would.
[quote]itsthetimman wrote:
That One Guy wrote:
ever seen a picture of an ethiopian child without a shirt? They are deathly skinny yet have large stomachs, it is because of this illusion.
No, they don’t look like they have huge stomachs because of small upper bodies. They have big stomachs because they get inadequate amounts of protein and their bodies break down the sources of protein from their bodies. They get fluid filled areas within the body cavities and this is what contributes to the larger bellies, I believe.
I’m sure this guy isn’t getting to the point he’s breaking down his own body as a starving individual would. [/quote]
It’s called Kwashiorkor. After African children are weaned off breast milk, their new diets often lack protein and amino acids. This leads to the abnormally swollen abdominals. It has nothing to do with upper body size. I doubt American five year olds have chests that much larger than Ethiopian kids.
The OP mentioned that everyone in his family is skinny with bellies. His genetics probably deposit most of his fat into his stomach area. He can still get a flat stomach if he wants, but will have to maintain a lower body fat % than usual.
Well, let’s get at the larger issue here. You need to add some muscle size. And it sounds to me like you have lousy proportions on top of a mean case of skinny-fat.
There are parts of that workout on bodybuilding.com that I like, and parts I don’t like. My serious lifting began with JB’s Scrawny to Brawny (It’s not a bad place to start your education). The toughest part about getting in shape is that old fight between gaining muscle and losing fat. And most people are going to tell you that you need focus on one at a time. For the most part I agree, I doubt focusing on losing some body fat is in your best interest right now.
Most people without experience will end up losing a lot of muscle while restricting calories in an attempt to lose fat. You DEFINITELY don’t want that. And I’m sure you know the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Well, my man, it’s broke, try something different. My number one problem until I read Scrawny to Brawny was diet…and I didn’t even realize it till I read the book! My first major bulk ended with me feeling and looking fatter than I had ever been. But it taught me a lot about my body and I’ve been able to figure out how to refine MY diet to reach the goals I’M looking for.
I read a lot of the articles on this site (kept away from the forums) and continued educating myself. It’s a learning process and finding the right way to eat is 90% of the battle. If you aren’t getting stronger along the way, you are doing something wrong.
I would not try and cut. Post your daily diet for your training and non training days and we shall try and solve your problems. I bet 90% of your problem lies in your diet and nutrient timing.
[quote]bluedog23 wrote:
itsthetimman wrote:
That One Guy wrote:
ever seen a picture of an ethiopian child without a shirt? They are deathly skinny yet have large stomachs, it is because of this illusion.
No, they don’t look like they have huge stomachs because of small upper bodies. They have big stomachs because they get inadequate amounts of protein and their bodies break down the sources of protein from their bodies. They get fluid filled areas within the body cavities and this is what contributes to the larger bellies, I believe.
I’m sure this guy isn’t getting to the point he’s breaking down his own body as a starving individual would.
It’s called Kwashiorkor. After African children are weaned off breast milk, their new diets often lack protein and amino acids. This leads to the abnormally swollen abdominals. It has nothing to do with upper body size. I doubt American five year olds have chests that much larger than Ethiopian kids.
The OP mentioned that everyone in his family is skinny with bellies. His genetics probably deposit most of his fat into his stomach area. He can still get a flat stomach if he wants, but will have to maintain a lower body fat % than usual.[/quote]
Largest majority of Ethiopian kid got their belly from worm parasite ( eating uncooked meat with parasite eggs in it)