Imbalanced body, how to approach balance?

[bishopdeep]

Greetings,

I am 29 y/o, 6’0 ft, 185 lbs. I’ve been back in the gym for about 3 months, seeing some results with my chest, arms and back. I squat, but not heavy due to f’ing up my back doing heavier squats a year ago. But, that’s a nice way of saying I don’t do much of legs workout other than just squatting (no calve work, no leg presses, hamstring curls etc).

I have a tire around my stomach which is the thing I want to get rid of the most. Even though I am making gains in my upper body/arms, with the fat stomach it looks awful to me.

Even though I am 29, when I wake up in the morning I feel older because my lower back is so tight/stiff. I’m sure this is due to sitting down at work all day, having a weak core, and not stretching at all.

From this 100ft overview you guys can probably tell that I am imbalanced not only internally but externally as well. My goal is to have a balanced body first, be around 170-175lbs, work on having a strong core, and be flexible. How would you recommend I approach this problem? What kind of workout program should I adopt? HIIT cardio or any cardio will do?

[n64bomb]

Fat loss via eating less will accomplish your main goal. Doing that, while lifting on a novice routine, and getting 8 hours of sleep a night, will do wonders. You can check out fierce 5, stronglifts, eric helms novice, to name a few. Choose one you like, and follow the program as written. Eat so you lose 1/2-1 lb per week.

[FatWhiteKid]

Bench/Rows/Squats should be your bread and butter. After that you can pick and choose which exercises you need for full balance. For instance, Squats never helped my front quad as much so I would alternate to front squats and also put more priority on leg extensions. I hurt my lower back as well, but you can still utilize things like leg press and smith machine squats to hit these muscles without putting much pressure on your lower back. Also doing light exercises to build your lower back without causing more harm than good, such as straight leg deadlifts (I use DBs) and good mornings with more emphasis on volume than weight. It’s important to keep your back muscles loose, as when they flare up can start pulling your spinal cord out of sorts (at least in my case). Proper stretching, foam rolling, and icy hot have greatly helped my recovery. As for the “tire”, you should burn the candle at both ends by doing core exercises to build mass while a proper diet and HIIT cardio to lose fat. HIIT is proven to be the best fat loss method and I’ve seen great results from incorporating it into my training. But diet is also critical to balance so that you can lose weight but get all the macros needed to have good energy levels and help your muscles grow with no wasted calories.