Storing Weight in Lower Body

Bigger Stronger Leaner
21

On that note…

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
That is what i based my routine off actually. Only difference is i no longer do OHP or BB bench, i use DBs, and i dont use the 531 rep scheme for main lifts because i can still progress faster than that especially in deadlift, so it makes sense to do so. It is a good routine. So i am training right and eating right, but visual progress is so fucking slow and i somehow need to lose the fat in my lower body without losing the modest size that i have built on the upper body. I feel like its probably hormone related.[/quote]

You say you based your routine off the 5/3/1 bodybuilding template, yet with those differences I’d like to see what your actual exercise routine is like. Exercises, sets, reps and possibly even rest times as well.

22

ok this picture i am standing totally relaxed, which i never normally would do and it exaggerates how bad i look, obviously if i flex my lats and push my chest up a bit, then i have much more of a V taper to my waist, but my upper body is still narrower than hips. Notice how my arms hang outwards to clear my hips, most people its the total opposite and they need to bring there hands in to get near the hips. Im not lean at all i know, but im also really skinny so i cant cut and im getting to fat to bulk.

My ass is at least twice the size that it should be, even when holding it in good posture like this picture, it still sticks out like a shelf behind me. I guess objectively looking at these pictures, im probably like 25% body fat when i thought i was like 17%. I have no choice but to cut.

My diet right now is about 4200 calories and im barely gaining any weight at 202lbs 6’1. I have oats+whey+milk in the morning, fast carbs during and after workout with more whey, then beef, potatoes and eggs. I eat some fast food here and there to make up the calories, probably twice a week. Lets say i’ve been training 18 months as i had a very bad injury in the 2 years which wasted loads of time. I’ve put 280lbs on my deadlift, 130lbs bench, 180lbs squat. When i started, i was strugglign to chest press 8kg dumbbells, my arms were shaking and flailing all over the place trying to move those little fuckers.

23

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
]http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/stinger70/2012-12-30_11-41-06_550-1_zpsdd175ad0.jpg

ok this picture i am standing totally relaxed, which i never normally would do and it exaggerates how bad i look, obviously if i flex my lats and push my chest up a bit, then i have much more of a V taper to my waist, but my upper body is still narrower than hips. Notice how my arms hang outwards to clear my hips, most people its the total opposite and they need to bring there hands in to get near the hips. Im not lean at all i know, but im also really skinny so i cant cut and im getting to fat to bulk.

My ass is at least twice the size that it should be, even when holding it in good posture like this picture, it still sticks out like a shelf behind me. I guess objectively looking at these pictures, im probably like 25% body fat when i thought i was like 17%. I have no choice but to cut.

My diet right now is about 4200 calories and im barely gaining any weight at 202lbs 6’1. I have oats+whey+milk in the morning, fast carbs during and after workout with more whey, then beef, potatoes and eggs. I eat some fast food here and there to make up the calories, probably twice a week. Lets say i’ve been training 18 months as i had a very bad injury in the 2 years which wasted loads of time. I’ve put 280lbs on my deadlift, 130lbs bench, 180lbs squat. When i started, i was strugglign to chest press 8kg dumbbells, my arms were shaking and flailing all over the place trying to move those little fuckers. [/quote]

You’re getting fat and your body tends to store it in your ass. That does NOT mean your lower body is overdeveloped; development refers to muscle, something you probably don’t have in any quantities. From my (anti-bulk) POV, you’re a perfect example of someone who pigged out for way too long and got flabby in the process (no, 4,000 calories isn’t all that necessary most of the time).
Time for a mental paradigm shift, no more bulking, but ‘recomposition’. Maybe look at leangains. Oh, and: PLEASE do lat pulldowns and static holds to get closer to pull ups. You have 30 pounds over me but add this weight to my belt and I could still do quite a few chins. When a lightweight has more back strength than you, it is time to reevaluate your eating and training habits.

24

Dude, you’ll look more muscular with less fat on you. The old ‘don’t cut before you hit 220’ bullshit isn’t really helping anybody.

25

[quote]nighthawkz wrote:

Dude, you’ll look more muscular with less fat on you. The old ‘don’t cut before you hit 220’ bullshit isn’t really helping anybody.
[/quote]

^EXACTLY.

This especially applies to guys without the hormonal makeup, physical structure, or mindset to ever get huge anyway. So many guys would just do better to simply lose the damn fat and build from there.

26

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Yeah because im struggling to build muscle in my upper body. If i was strong my upper body would be big…but i cant make it get strong or big, thats the whole point! Everything gets shuttled into my lower body as fat and or muscle. The structure is totally unbalanced, there are MUCH lighter guys in the gym with broader shoulders who look bigger than me. my ass/hips are 43" the same as my chest, thats not “fine.”[/quote]

I saw your pictures. You body structures are completely normal.

You’ve been lifting for 18 months, you bench 175 and can do one pullup, and you’re upset that you aren’t huge yet.

If you want to be strong/muscular, you are going to have to realize that it will take MUCH MUCH longer than a year and a half to get there.

27

^see this thread for example of a guy my height with normal structure and average genetics lifting for 18 months. Look at the total difference in size and structure. He is literally twice my size. Didn’t take him long to get strong and muscular.

Whoever mentioned doing lat pulldowns, i can easily do 110kg for reps with good form, but cant pull up my body.

So i guess i need to maintain for a little while and then do a cut down to about 10% BF? I will end up so skinny. I was buying into the professor x mentality but i guess that hasnt worked for me.

28

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Whoever mentioned doing lat pulldowns, i can easily do 110kg for reps with good form, but cant pull up my body.[/quote]

‘Good form’ on a lat pulldown usually means your muscles work just the same as in a pull up. If your pulldowns had ‘good form’ it would mean you could do weighted pull ups with 45 pounds added. Do you see the flaw? And ‘I will end up sooo skinny’ - you will loose the fat, your muscles (if you do it right) will be the same. Nobody should mourn the loss of fat weight. If all you want to be is heavy, eat stones.

29

I guess the worst part about cutting is thats like 3-4months where i wont build any muscle, and im so far off having any muscle that it seems a waste. But it has to be done.

I dont swing the weight at all on lat pull, its the plate loaded machine not the cable/pulley one if that makes a difference, but i promise that 110kg is not that hard for me. I can squeeze the weight down and hold it at the bottom. I have a friend who is really scrawny and weak but he can do 10 pullups because he is small and light with tiny legs. He struggles to squat 30kg and benches about the same.

30

I can relate to your problem.

I was an overweight kid and have gravitated towards easy weight gain my whole life.

I tend to gain weight in my legs, bips and ass first too.

It has taken years to build a modest level of strength and hold muscle, currently (320 Bench, 210 OHP, 475 Deadlift, 370 Squat) at a slightly chubby 6’ 215lbs. I can also easily do sets of 10 for various forms of pullups.

With that level of strength I have a 16" flexed right arm.

You just need to stick with it much, much longer: Years, decades, a life time.

You have vastly underestimated the amount of time it takes to accomplish your goals.

Most short term transformations you see on the web are people cutting weight and showing their abz.

Losing fat is easy to do. Gaining muscle and strength is a much slower process.

I assume the people you are comparing yourself too have athletic backgrounds and were probably training through sports and calisthenics their whole lives. They may also be more genectically gifted, both structuraly and hormonally.

If you didn’t know how to read 18 months ago, would you expect to be writing novels at this point. At this point you have just started to become physically literate. Within a few more years, you should have a respectable base and , ironically, within a decade people will be telling you you’re lucky that being muscular and strong comes so naturally to you.

Everyone has a different starting point and potential.

Don’t worry about how you stack up, just focus on improving yourself.

I have found in training, business and life in general if you focus on the process and recognize that immeasurable amounts of hard work and time are necassary for true success, the results will take care of themselves.

31

Do front squats if you don’t want to do back squats. Your posterior chain is maybe slightly “overdeveloped” if you can deadlift 360 and bench only 175. You should also be able to do pull-ups. Everyone should be.

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
That is what i based my routine off actually. Only difference is i no longer do OHP or BB bench, i use DBs, and i dont use the 531 rep scheme for main lifts because i can still progress faster than that especially in deadlift, so it makes sense to do so. It is a good routine.
[/quote]

I’m curious on how your routine looks like exactly, and why you did all these changes.

32

Do 531, use the body weight template for the accessory lifts. Do not modify the program in any way. Run hills and sprint 2-3 times a week. Stop being such a girly man.
Document this in an online training log.

Thank me later.

Uncle Bird.

tweet

33

So, despite “hammering” you’re upper-body, you can’t do a pull-up and not sure what you squat.

Advice:
usc
-Take your dress off and stop worrying about your ass.

-GET STRONGER FIRST. You have to get stronger to get bigger! You’re not hammering anything. How many of your reps are over 90%1RM?

-Stop “bulking” and eating 4K a day.
If you’ve been working at this for two years and can’t bench your bodyweight or do a pull-up, I repeat, you’re not “hammering” a DAMN thing. You’re not doing enough to burn 4K a day, therefore, you’re getting fat. You just so happen to distribute your fat to your lower body.

Work your lower body! If you can bench 175, but row 220 and only squat 230, then not only does your row form suck, but your legs are weak as shit. And muscles will use the energy most readily available, sometimes its the fat nearby. So get to squattin’ and pullin’.

In other words… man up and/or hire a personal trainer. You’re the reason we have a career. You posted here because you want to learn. And that’s great! A great first step. But you need someone to teach you, show you, and give you perspective.

34

[quote]238 wrote:
On that note…

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
That is what i based my routine off actually. Only difference is i no longer do OHP or BB bench, i use DBs, and i dont use the 531 rep scheme for main lifts because i can still progress faster than that especially in deadlift, so it makes sense to do so. It is a good routine. So i am training right and eating right, but visual progress is so fucking slow and i somehow need to lose the fat in my lower body without losing the modest size that i have built on the upper body. I feel like its probably hormone related.[/quote]

You say you based your routine off the 5/3/1 bodybuilding template, yet with those differences I’d like to see what your actual exercise routine is like. Exercises, sets, reps and possibly even rest times as well.[/quote]

I’d just like to bump my question, got stuck in the moderation queue so I think you missed it.

Also, with the whole lat pulldowns and pullups thing, I agree that something is seriously not right if you’re doing lat pulldowns with 110 kg but can only do one pullup. I’d actually like to see videos of that to be honest. Not sure if this’ll work for you, but here’s how I fixed my pullup issue:

  • Get pullup bar, put in doorway over bedroom or bathroom door
  • Every time you go in or out, do five pullups, each rep you can’t complete, just pull yourself up as high as you can, hold for 5 seconds then drop, rest 5 seconds then repeat.
  • When you can complete all 5, go for sets of 6, then 7 and so on.

The key here is doing it every day. Results will vary, but I went from being able to do 3 pullups to doing 9 in a span of about 1.5 months.

Edit: I see Matias asked the same question as well, at least that’s two of us who’re interested in what you’ve actually been doing in the gym.

35

your bench seems abnormally low, deadlift is decent, squat kind of bad too

get off the 4 day split to something w/ more frequency

how much protein have you been eating? even if you were on shit routines for 2 years it’s confusing how you’d have a 170 bench, unless you weren’t doing BB bench much, or not eating enough protein

36

[quote]powell3120 wrote:
-GET STRONGER FIRST. You have to get stronger to get bigger! You’re not hammering anything. How many of your reps are over 90%1RM?

-Stop “bulking” and eating 4K a day.
If you’ve been working at this for two years and can’t bench your bodyweight or do a pull-up, I repeat, you’re not “hammering” a DAMN thing. You’re not doing enough to burn 4K a day, therefore, you’re getting fat. You just so happen to distribute your fat to your lower body.

Work your lower body! If you can bench 175, but row 220 and only squat 230, then not only does your row form suck, but your legs are weak as shit. And muscles will use the energy most readily available, sometimes its the fat nearby. So get to squattin’ and pullin’.

In other words… man up and/or hire a personal trainer. You’re the reason we have a career. You posted here because you want to learn. And that’s great! A great first step. But you need someone to teach you, show you, and give you perspective.[/quote]

It pisses me off when people claim that i dont work hard. I’ve put everything into this. I dont even gain weight on 4k a day, so how can it possibly be too much? I didnt always eat this much, i started bulking on about 3k and gradually gained, never more than 1lb per week as recommended.
I work in the 6-8 rep range. Learnt about routines from T Nation, bodybuilding bible thread, and kingbeefs thread. When i hit 8 reps, up the weight and go for 5 or 6 again. I always reach failure and push to add weight as much as possible. Deadlifts i set a new 5RM or 2RM every week and get brutal back DOMS from it.

Video of my row form:

That was 72.5kg, now doing 10kg more for the same reps, 100kg was clearly states as a 1rm.

The personal trainers i have seen bring new meaning to the word “low intensity” and use techniques such as the half ROM bench press with far too much weight for a skinny client. If i could hire a PROPER bodybuilding coach to train with, then i would, but i cant find any. This is not a criticism of you as a PT, just the ones i have witnessed.

37

[quote]fr0gger666 wrote:
your bench seems abnormally low, deadlift is decent, squat kind of bad too

get off the 4 day split to something w/ more frequency

how much protein have you been eating? even if you were on shit routines for 2 years it’s confusing how you’d have a 170 bench, unless you weren’t doing BB bench much, or not eating enough protein

[/quote]

Always eaten a minimum of my bodyweight in protein, stepped it up a few months ago to 250+ grams, didnt make any noticeable difference. I don’t do BB bench THAT much, incline DB i can do 32kg per hand for about 6 reps.

38

[quote]stinger70 wrote:

^see this thread for example of a guy my height with normal structure and average genetics lifting for 18 months. Look at the total difference in size and structure. He is literally twice my size. Didn’t take him long to get strong and muscular.

Whoever mentioned doing lat pulldowns, i can easily do 110kg for reps with good form, but cant pull up my body.

So i guess i need to maintain for a little while and then do a cut down to about 10% BF? I will end up so skinny. I was buying into the professor x mentality but i guess that hasnt worked for me. [/quote]

Andy Bolton squatted 500 the first time he ever lifted. And guess what? That does not affect you in any way.

Stop bitching about your “structures” and “genetics” and just go be better.

39

You’re claiming your ass is fat. If you’re program is so great, and your diet is spot on, then what’s the damn problem?

Good. We still haven’t seen these result-less routines.

Bad. Leave a little in the tank. Anytime you go to failure you’re taking away from any lifts you do afterward.
And if you’ve been at this for months, a week off or a week of very light training would benefit you greatly. Giving your body time to repair, you’d come back with PRs.

Lead with your chest. Make sure your hips aren’t coming up too fast otherwise you’re compensating with your lower back. Everything should be one fluid movement.

On one hand I will say there are a LOT of shitty PTs out there. And I don’t know the industry overseas. However…
A board press is one way to increase your bench. And training programs are tailored to individuals. Some of my obese clients get a treadmill walking workout. My athletes get olympic lifts. Some of my “in-shape” clients get a low intensity workout because they just want the social aspect of working out with someone and they’re just going through a maintenance phase.
Unless you’ve actually worked with a CPT, you can’t critique them. What are your credentials? Who have you successfully trained?

That doesn’t add up, my friend.

Until we see your program, there’s nothing we can do for you.

40

[quote]powell3120 wrote:

That doesn’t add up, my friend.
[/quote]

I actually have an idea… He puts 110kg in weights on the machine but due to the lever mechanics etc this isn’t what he is actually pulling, more like 80 or so. Still, two years of training without being able to do a chin up… Something is very, very wrong.