Stubborn Belly Fat

Training
21

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^That is a horrible excuse. How would cycling your carbs interfere with a normal working day? You just eat more carbs on your high days than you do on your low/med days.

You need to start building muscle. As long as you’re carrying the amount of muscle you have now, you’re never going to be happy with the way you look. You could drop down to 10% bf but without having a decent amount of muscle you’re going to look scrawny/sickly/weak/like a kid.

you know what I’m saying?

You’re BF is already low enough (IMO) to start packing on some muscle.

Hit the weights hard, eat 1.25-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, get 25% of your daily calories from fat and then fill in the rest with carbs.[/quote]

How much do you weigh Gregron? Regarding me, something just doesn’t add up- at that weight I’m not fat, but I should be stronger, so what’s making up my 13 stone?!! I guess I keep plugging away with the gains, keeping the lifts going up and re-assess when I’m half decently built.

22

i’m 5’11" and weighed 212lbs in my avatar… I fluctuate between 209-213 depending on the day and what i’ve eaten.

You definitely arent fat but it seems like you might be weak? Why not work on gaining strength and lifting more than 2 days a week?

23

[quote]gregron wrote:
i’m 5’11" and weighed 212lbs in my avatar… I fluctuate between 209-213 depending on the day and what i’ve eaten.

You definitely arent fat but it seems like you might be weak? Why not work on gaining strength and lifting more than 2 days a week?[/quote]

Well as you say, at this stage I’ve got two options- cut up what I’ve got, end up 11.5-12 stone but with not much muscle mass. OR I can keep building up the strength with the sprinting and weights and if the fat gains are too much, cut when needed.

With regards to doing the weights more frequently, I’ve tried various bodypart splits in the past, for example chest/tri, back/bi, legs, shoulders/traps, push/pull/legs and full bodies, but ultimately I really felt I needed some kind of cardio in there to keep me lean-ish- I’ve always kind of been the type that balloons unless I keep myself relatively ‘fit’. The current set-up, with sprint days and weights days, is that the sprint days are to really ramp up the metabolism, ensure that i’m putting my food to good use and to provide a degree of anabolic stimulus for the weights workout the next day. Plenty of protein and calories that day, then a day of rest afterwards to grow.

To be honest, that pic was taken around a month ago, just coming off a period of not really knowing what I’m doing. Since then, for the last month, I’ve been eating a surplus and really hitting things hard, and I’m making progress. My lifts for example in the OHP have gone from 14kg DBs x 11s to 20kg DBS x 10s. What kind of increase, be it percentages or whatever, do you think are achievable and should I aim for to ensure that I’m growing at the right rate and aren’t straying off the path of progress?

24

why not lift 4 days a week and do your sprinting 2-3 days a week? You can do the sprinting on non lifting days or you can do sprinting after your lifting?

You should keep a log book for your workouts and just make sure that you are getting consistently stronger and stronger.

Lifting heavy weights will keep you fit if you’re intensity level is right. I have not done any consistent “cardio” in months. I lift hard and bust my ass at the gym and am usually sweating my ass off. I prefer to hit a little jump ropes or do burpees for “cardio” or whatever you wanna call it. Just mix some of that stuff in with your lifting and you’ll be burning calories for sure.

25

[quote]Hamster of DOOM wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
i’m 5’11" and weighed 212lbs in my avatar… I fluctuate between 209-213 depending on the day and what i’ve eaten.

You definitely arent fat but it seems like you might be weak? Why not work on gaining strength and lifting more than 2 days a week?[/quote]

Well as you say, at this stage I’ve got two options- cut up what I’ve got, end up 11.5-12 stone but with not much muscle mass. OR I can keep building up the strength with the sprinting and weights and if the fat gains are too much, cut when needed.

With regards to doing the weights more frequently, I’ve tried various bodypart splits in the past, for example chest/tri, back/bi, legs, shoulders/traps, push/pull/legs and full bodies, but ultimately I really felt I needed some kind of cardio in there to keep me lean-ish- I’ve always kind of been the type that balloons unless I keep myself relatively ‘fit’. The current set-up, with sprint days and weights days, is that the sprint days are to really ramp up the metabolism, ensure that i’m putting my food to good use and to provide a degree of anabolic stimulus for the weights workout the next day. Plenty of protein and calories that day, then a day of rest afterwards to grow.

To be honest, that pic was taken around a month ago, just coming off a period of not really knowing what I’m doing. Since then, for the last month, I’ve been eating a surplus and really hitting things hard, and I’m making progress. My lifts for example in the OHP have gone from 14kg DBs x 11s to 20kg DBS x 10s. What kind of increase, be it percentages or whatever, do you think are achievable and should I aim for to ensure that I’m growing at the right rate and aren’t straying off the path of progress?[/quote]

Honestly, you need to get over the psychological block of your weight increasing. If you do this right, you weight will go up but you shouldn’t put on too much more fat. If you just cut that fat off you still won’t be happy with how you look and will probably end up putting it back on anyways when you decide you need to bulk up.

As you’ve been told a few times so far you need to put some muscle on and concentrate on that for a while. Be smart about it and you won’t gain much more fat then you have now.

26

OK, I think the message has gone in now, thanks for persisting with me!

Final question, do you think it’s feasible to gain quality mass and still make sizeable progress whilst still incorporating sprint sessions into my week? I just feel so much better when I’m doing them, much more athletic and I enjoy the fact that it’s a balls-to-the-wall session. Kind of reminds me of the effort that I also need to put in at the gym. And I guess if I’m feeling better about things I’m more likely to progress.

27

[quote]gregron wrote:
why not lift 4 days a week and do your sprinting 2-3 days a week? You can do the sprinting on non lifting days or you can do sprinting after your lifting?

You should keep a log book for your workouts and just make sure that you are getting consistently stronger and stronger.

Lifting heavy weights will keep you fit if you’re intensity level is right. I have not done any consistent “cardio” in months. I lift hard and bust my ass at the gym and am usually sweating my ass off. I prefer to hit a little jump ropes or do burpees for “cardio” or whatever you wanna call it. Just mix some of that stuff in with your lifting and you’ll be burning calories for sure.[/quote]

What kind of split would you recommend?

28

[quote]Hamster of DOOM wrote:
OK, I think the message has gone in now, thanks for persisting with me!

Final question, do you think it’s feasible to gain quality mass and still make sizeable progress whilst still incorporating sprint sessions into my week? I just feel so much better when I’m doing them, much more athletic and I enjoy the fact that it’s a balls-to-the-wall session. Kind of reminds me of the effort that I also need to put in at the gym. And I guess if I’m feeling better about things I’m more likely to progress.[/quote]

Well on this matter there are no doubt different camps in terms of opinion. But I would say yes. You need your nutrition, and rest to be spot on though. Also it depends on the quantity of sprinting that you are doing. I would limit it to no more then two sessions per week. If you are all out sprinting then you will need more recovery time, and that will undoubtably influence you performance when weight training.

You definitely need to get into the gym more though if you want to make progress. As gregon said, two sessions a week is far from optimal.

29

[quote]Hamster of DOOM wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
why not lift 4 days a week and do your sprinting 2-3 days a week? You can do the sprinting on non lifting days or you can do sprinting after your lifting?

You should keep a log book for your workouts and just make sure that you are getting consistently stronger and stronger.

Lifting heavy weights will keep you fit if you’re intensity level is right. I have not done any consistent “cardio” in months. I lift hard and bust my ass at the gym and am usually sweating my ass off. I prefer to hit a little jump ropes or do burpees for “cardio” or whatever you wanna call it. Just mix some of that stuff in with your lifting and you’ll be burning calories for sure.[/quote]

What kind of split would you recommend?
[/quote]

Go to the BB section and look for KingBeefs thread. Something like: Do this routine instead of that dumb one.

Read through that and pick one of the 4 or 5 day a week programs. You can still add in your sprinting after the lifting if you would like.

31

You’re not 10% BF. I would guess 15 ish.

32

your problem isnt your bf its your perception of your body (very realistic i might add.) you have a very odd shape. not to be rude but you do. you carry a lot of weight on lower back/hips much like a woman. either you have insulin problem, test/est levels are out of wack, plagued with shit adipose tissue in wrong places or a combination of the three. i would guess latter. you have no muscle to speak of nor are you lean anywhere. the only option you have or correcting anything is to change your shape, easiest way being build back width, traps, shoulders and arms. this will at the minimum give you a better shape which is the problem not your bf.
this however will be monumentally difficult for you because a)you are going to be afraid to eat appropriately b)do not know to eat appropriately c)how to effectively train
good luck.

33

[quote]doombunney wrote:
your problem isnt your bf its your perception of your body (very realistic i might add.) you have a very odd shape. not to be rude but you do. you carry a lot of weight on lower back/hips much like a woman. either you have insulin problem, test/est levels are out of wack, plagued with shit adipose tissue in wrong places or a combination of the three. i would guess latter. you have no muscle to speak of nor are you lean anywhere. the only option you have or correcting anything is to change your shape, easiest way being build back width, traps, shoulders and arms. this will at the minimum give you a better shape which is the problem not your bf.
this however will be monumentally difficult for you because a)you are going to be afraid to eat appropriately b)do not know to eat appropriately c)how to effectively train
good luck.[/quote]

I’ve had my test checked in the last year and it’s normal, as is cortisol and I’m not diabetic. So unless it could be an oestrogen issue or the case of shitty fat storage, I’m stumped.

In terms of the importance of just progressing, gaining more strength etc, surely it doesn’t matter how I do so, i.e. what program/split I use?

34

[quote]Hamster of DOOM wrote:

[quote]doombunney wrote:
your problem isnt your bf its your perception of your body (very realistic i might add.) you have a very odd shape. not to be rude but you do. you carry a lot of weight on lower back/hips much like a woman. either you have insulin problem, test/est levels are out of wack, plagued with shit adipose tissue in wrong places or a combination of the three. i would guess latter. you have no muscle to speak of nor are you lean anywhere. the only option you have or correcting anything is to change your shape, easiest way being build back width, traps, shoulders and arms. this will at the minimum give you a better shape which is the problem not your bf.
this however will be monumentally difficult for you because a)you are going to be afraid to eat appropriately b)do not know to eat appropriately c)how to effectively train
good luck.[/quote]

I’ve had my test checked in the last year and it’s normal, as is cortisol and I’m not diabetic. So unless it could be an oestrogen issue or the case of shitty fat storage, I’m stumped.

In terms of the importance of just progressing, gaining more strength etc, surely it doesn’t matter how I do so, i.e. what program/split I use?[/quote]

What do you want more muscle or strength? The two go hand in hand but of course you need to choose one as your out and out goal…

Also, you need to forget about hormones and all that type of stuff. Whether or not your fat storage problems are because of them is irrelevant at this stage. You just need to actually train and eat properly.

35

OK, I hereby solemnly swear to clear off for 3-4 months, eat to gain and to report back with bigger lifts and hopefully progressed pictures. Wish me luck!

36

Good luck.

I’m just here to support what the others have been telling you. Lift heavy, eat clean, sleep well, take notes, adjust as needed.

37

I suggest cycling your carbs and start killing the weights. Let’s be real…diet is going to determine how ripped you are, not how many sprint sessions you do a week. I’ve witnessed plenty of people doing numerous sprint sessions, that are still flabby with high body fat percentages.

When you lift, you need to build the bulk of your workouts around compound movements like squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, lunges, pull-ups, etc. These movements elicit the greatest hormonal response which will build muscle and burn fat. With the right training protocol, you can indeed pack on some muscle and burn fat at the same time.

Stubborn belly fat is a result of a cortisol imbalance (stress hormone). Cortisol is a fat storing and muscle burning hormone (bad). But without cortisol we would die because that’s how our bodies combat stress. All forms of stress need to be analyzed (sleep, diet, hydration levels, exercise, psychological, etc.) in order to get cortisol under control. There are also adrenal support supplements that can assist in this along with the supplement phosphatidylserine.

My personal advice is to look into carb cycling (Nutrition Cycling: The Best Diet Ever? - Live Greatly : Live Greatly), kill the weights at least 4-5 days a week, and get your stress under control (especially in regards to quality sleep & water intake).

And weight shouldn’t be a concern, unless you’re an endurance athlete (which it doesn’t sound like you are). Keep re-assessing by measure your body fat % and go from there.

38

Update - about a month in and my lifts are rising still.

OHP for example has gone from (DBs in kg) 14s x 12 to 22s x 11.
BOR has gone from (DB, kg) 26 x 12 to 32 x 12.

Feeling noticeably bigger and the body fat doesn’t seem to have risen much if at all. Sprinting 2-3 x per week and 2-3 days of weights a week. Chuffed!

39

Sigh. Do I have to do everything?

Kiddo. Do the followong and then come back to me in 7 weeks and let me know how your going;

Monday:
Deadlifts(5x5), dB rows(3x12), facepulls)3x12)

Tuesday:
Military press(5x5), overhead press(3x10), lateral raises(3x12)
Sprint(10 x 100m)

Wednesday:
Rest and cook some food.

Thursday:
Squat(5x5), barbell lunges(3x12), straight leg DL(3x10)

Friday:
Bench(5x5), Incline bench(3x10), dips(3x10), pushups(3x12)

Saturday:
Extra mobility work.Sprint. 5x100m, 10x20m. Extra stretching.

Sunday:
Rest.

Make sure you lift heavier every week on the first lift I have prescribed. Even if its just 2kg. Keep eating well and get some sleep.
Ill talk to you in 7 weeks.

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40

Hmm, thanks for that theBird. I think you’ve misunderstood my post though- I was just posting a positive progress report, saying that I’ve been eating more, hitting things hard and I’m seeing progress!