Need help training for a skinny-fat guy...

[xlr77]

I just recently lost weight over the last year (about 60 lbs) and I'm pretty thin now but I have a bit of flab. This is probably cause I really messed up and stopped doing cardio and just followed my diet the rest of the way through to get to the weight I am now. My body doesn't look disgusting or anything but it doesn't look great either. Anyways, can someone tell me how much cardio I should be doing to lose the flab? I have a good weight training program and diet but I have no idea what amount of cardio I should do. I don't want to lose any more weight since I already don't weigh much but I also want to get rid of the flab. Obviously, I also want to build muscle. *sigh* I really wish losing weight/gaining muscle didn't have to be this complicated. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, my BF% is about 10%. Is this what normal skinny-fat guys have or is this lower than usual?

[L.L.O.Y.D]

If you're planning on gaining muscle it's best not to do too much cardio (cortisol prodution from CNS stimulation = muscle breakdown)


Possibly a 3-day split, for example....


Monday - Legs and shoulders

Wednesday - Chest and biceps

Friday - Back and triceps







However if you are trying to simultaneously lose fat and build muscle (which hinders gains in most occaisions) Do 45 mins of cardio at about 60% of your max heart rate on an empty stomach in the morning for uptimum fat burning.

[patricio2626]

I just recently lost weight over the last year (about 60 lbs) and I'm pretty thin now but I have a bit of flab. This is probably cause I really messed up and stopped doing cardio and just followed my diet the rest of the way through to get to the weight I am now. My body doesn't look disgusting or anything but it doesn't look great either. Anyways, can someone tell me how much cardio I should be doing to lose the flab? I have a good weight training program and diet but I have no idea what amount of cardio I should do. I don't want to lose any more weight since I already don't weigh much but I also want to get rid of the flab. Obviously, I also want to build muscle. *sigh* I really wish losing weight/gaining muscle didn't have to be this complicated. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, my BF% is about 10%. Is this what normal skinny-fat guys have or is this lower than usual?

Hi bud,

Maybe 20-25 mins, 3x/week? This shouldn't be excessive, and if you don't want to lose any further weight, and just tighten up a little, that combined with your workout and diet sounds like a good plan. You learned a valuable lesson: diet alone can be a bad thing! Now, if we could only teach the masses this... 10% is not flabby, BTW; maybe you're underestimating your bf?

[xlr77]

I'm not guessing. The trainer at the gym did the caliper test thing and it came out to 10% (stomach, legs, and arms combined). I am a bit flabby though, even he made a commented on that. He recommended that I shouldn't do too cardio (just playing basketball) for now but I really want to lose the flab. I don't think basketball is good enough to lose flab and maintain muscle though. Will it be possible to get muscle first and then lose the flab? Or will I lose too much muscle that way? Also, I'm not going for a bodybuilder looks. I'm going for a slim, cut look like NBA players. So could I gain excess muscle and then start doing a ton of cardio and then end up looking the way I want? My goal weight is 160-170 lbs and I'm 5'11


edit: maybe the guy messed up and my bf% is higher... I really don't know how it's so low...

[xlr77]

I've been doing some research on this skinny-fat thing and I'm kind of getting a bit depressed now. People who have it just sound so hopeless. Like there's no way of getting rid of it. If I exercise, work hard, and eat right I can eventaully get rid of it, right? I just can't get my mind of this ****. Depressing stuff...

[IamJonsCranium]

do circuit workouts.

get 3 exercises and do them one after another, about 3 sets of each. no rest in between exercises and 1-2 min in between each set of 3. make sure you are eating ABSOLUTLEY no sugar. only whole grain carbs. (white bread is a sugar). Honey is ok, since it is low glycemic (as with fruits). I'll see if i can find a workout my friend gave me....

no luck. anyway, so you'd do like 1 set of pull downs, 1 set of rows, 1 set arnold press (or military press). rest 1-2 minutes, repeat. now this will give you strength and tone, but not too much bulk, and it's also cardio at the same time.

I believe it is easier to lose weight during morning workouts. drink a large glass of water and hit the gym, and take protein and eat breakfast right after. I would focus more on losing the flab, then build muscle. once the flab is gone, the weight training will keep it off. do some cardio with the above plan, and no sugar, and it should be gone quickly. also, don't overdo the protein till after the flab is gone.

anyway, that is my recommendation. it should work well, but really it will have to be a 2 step process to lose weight and put on bulk.

EDIT: i just read your 2nd last post about the slim look. this should work well for you.

[IamJonsCranium]

and 1 more thing you can try, after you lose the flab. go to a standard 1 exercise at a time program, but for every workout, you do a set of heavy weight, 5-8 reps(80% of max). then you immediatly do a set of light weight, about 20 reps (25% of max). rest a couple minutes. do about 3-4 sets. that'll get you ripped pretty efficiently.

[xlr77]

Yeah, but here's the thing. I already weight too little even with the flab. I would be dangerously skinny if I lost any more weight. I've had a clean deit for the last year. I haven't eaten junk food or had sugar once. I've been eating whole grain bread, fruits, vegitables, fish, chicken, etc. I may have accidentally had an unhealthy thing every once in a while (not knowing it was unhealthy at the time) but that's it. I just really want to gain some muscle first and then lose the flab. I've seen some pics of people on this site that bulked up (and gained much more flab than I have) and then lose all of it. I want to do that...

[IamJonsCranium]

ok, so bulk up first. protein load. get a good weight gainer (i like cytogainer). take an herbal t boost like tribulus (rash or heart palpitaions signal alergy to it), ginseng (trib is stronger) or maybe someting like thermolif's e-bol (thinking of getting it but cant say how it works yet). if pinnacle still makes anabolx plus, that's a good one (has tribulus).

a variation of the weight gainer could be a whey casein mix, with waxy maize. havent tried that yet.

eat a 24 ounce of cottage cheese every day, a jar of apple sauce every day.

do things like squats and dead lift to get more power in your core.


oh.... DONT DO ANYTHING I SAID. you're only 16. you'll fill out naturally in 2 years. i was 6' and 135 at 18. by 20 i was 6' 165. you cant take t boosters yet. well you can do the cottage cheese and apple sauce thing. i don't think you should do heavy workouts yet. squat and dl or fine but do 12-15 reps. once you hit 18 you can increase weight and those workouts will put on muscle and bone mass. i wouldn't worry about your weight. just keep the flab off. your teenage years determine your metabolism later in life. young adult (18-25) is more determinant of size. that's when you have max T.

[xlr77]

I'm the same weight you were when you were 18 except I'm 5'11.5 instead of 6'0. Anyways, I'll take your advice into consideration. I'll also talk to my gym trainer and see what he has to say since I haven't really talked to him about the flab yet...

[IronAbrams]

Eating semi-clean and on a regular schedule with heavy training was more than enough to help me out.

Cardio is an optional thing, the main problem that skinny fat guys have is a ****ed metabolism from too little food and bad quality of it.

[xlr77]

^Yeah, but I wasn't skinny fat for my entire life or anything. I was a skinny-skinny kid until I was about 7 or 8 years old. Then I moved to America and discovered junk food. I guess my metabolism is a bit ****ed though since I played **** loads of basketball back when I was fat and didn't lose any weight. But then again, I couldn't really expect much since I was eating a burger or two every other day. Also, I've been eating really healthy for the last year like I mentioned before. Maybe it was too little but it wasn't bad quality...

[xlr77]

I did the caliper test again and it came out to 10% this time as well. I think I'm just overreacting to the amount of flab I have. I have some but it's really not that much compared to some kids that go to my school (who aren't even really overweight). The gym trainer just said to build some muscle first and eat (at least 2000 calories and build it up from there as time goes by. I don't take any supplements at all) and then I can cut the fat later on by doing more cardio and taking in less calories. I'll probably lose some muscle in the process but I don't care. I'm not going for the bodybuilder look so it doesn't matter to me. I just want to have a good basketball body. Does all this sound like a good plan to you guys?