I wish I could move my fat around!
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I do deadlifts, barbell rows, squats, over head press, bicep curls and sit ups. All have got heavier over the months except squats which I just try and add reps to (no rack) I thought 3 days a week was the most you could do with enough rest days?
Nice amount of compound lifts (meh about bicep curls though...), no bench press? No other accessory core work?
How often you train depends on lots of factors from programming to capabilities to intensity.
If your lifts are going up keep going, it's working. It's not a quick process (unless you are male, young and gifted).
Bicep curls because my arms are skinny. No bench press because I haven't got over the (irrational) fear of starting it. What do you mean by accessory core work, what could I add?
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Cool, maybe you just needed to have a good rant.Thank you, I am familiar with that but to stay the same weight I would need to gain as much in muscle as I need to lose in fat. If I have (for example) 7lbs too much fat, there is no way I will put on 7lbs of muscle...I believe
Anyway, best of luck to you...
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Bicep curls are incredibly inefficient way of training - isolating one small muscle.
Another "pull" compound lift would give you more bang for your buck (lat pull downs or pull ups for example).
By the way most upper arm volume comes from triceps not biceps - but you do want to work both with push and pull exercises.
You are doing sit ups for your abs (unweighted I assume?) but after a certain point they won't add much unless you add intensity. Hanging leg raises? Weighted ab exercises etc..
Adding oblique exercises (single dumbbell side bends, cable twists etc.) might be an idea.
You are missing major muscles not training your pectorals, if you can't overcome your bench fear (no safety bars?) then maybe use a machine or at least do push ups.
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If wishes were fishes I'd have a whole lake lol. I'd also move my stomach fat into my boobs. But only a little. The rest I'd move into the garbage bin.7
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Thank you for your help I really appreciate it. I'd be happy to swap bicep curls for lat pull down, what should I do for my triceps?
I could barely do 1 sit up a month ago and can now do 50 so prob do need to change that up s bit, I brought a core strength book a while ago so will look into some different exercises in that.
I'm not scared of safety with bench it's just the hurdle of starting something new, I was terrified of overhead press before I started but love it now so will really push myself to start bench press
Thanks again
Eta push ups make me feel like my head is going to explode
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I do them last while I'm resting between sit up, I do 17.5kg x 10 3 timesGuitarJerry wrote: »Bicep curls are incredibly inefficient way of training - isolating one small muscle.
Another "pull" compound lift would give you more bang for your buck (lat pull downs or pull ups for example).
By the way most upper arm volume comes from triceps not biceps - but you do want to work both with push and pull exercises.
You are doing sit ups for your abs (unweighted I assume?) but after a certain point they won't add much unless you add intensity. Hanging leg raises? Weighted ab exercises etc..
Adding oblique exercises (single dumbbell side bends, cable twists etc.) might be an idea.
You are missing major muscles not training your pectorals, if you can't overcome your bench fear (no safety bars?) then maybe use a machine or at least do push ups.
Biceps have a purpose, and after years of ignoring them listening to power lifters, I decided to start working on them in isolation. Only twice a week. and Just one exercise. i don't sit there and do 20 different variations like all the guys in my gym. But, I have found it helps with my pulling exercises, therefore, increasing back power and size. So, i would never say don't do biceps, just do it last, and do maybe a couple sets with enough weight to make it hard to do 12. It's definitely on the low end, and I skip them sometimes, because they are not a priority.
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Bench press and OH press work your triceps just fine.
Don't be afraid of bench - just start with the bar, absolutely no shame in that. Often the sign of a lifter who knows form is paramount.
Or start on a machine. I still use a machine after 40 years when training in my limited work gym - 100kg is still an effective workout however you do it!
Here's an excellent tutorial for bench pressing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XRmd3a8_0
Good on you by the way for overcoming your fears.4 -
Thank you 0
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I feel your pain, and I think there are always improvements to be made...but they may not be solely physical. You can grow your strength, your flexibility, your power, etc. But you may not be able to look the way you envision due to your genetics without the aid of plastic surgery. I will never have an hourglass figure. I'm like you...too skinny in some places and fat I'd like to get rid of (or move) in others. I recently had a DXA scan done and 25% of my fat is stored in my legs. I've packed a good amount of muscle on my upper body, but my ribs and sternum still show, while I have no visible muscle definition in my legs. My arms look MUCH better with muscle. Working on my chest to try to cover up the sternum. But the DXA also showed that I can't really afford to lose much more body fat. I'm at the lowest point I can healthily maintain. So that means......we probably need to start learning to love and appreciate our unique bodies for what they are and what they can do. 5
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mom23mangos wrote: »I feel your pain, and I think there are always improvements to be made...but they may not be solely physical. You can grow your strength, your flexibility, your power, etc. But you may not be able to look the way you envision due to your genetics without the aid of plastic surgery. I will never have an hourglass figure. I'm like you...too skinny in some places and fat I'd like to get rid of (or move) in others. I recently had a DXA scan done and 25% of my fat is stored in my legs. I've packed a good amount of muscle on my upper body, but my ribs and sternum still show, while I have no visible muscle definition in my legs. My arms look MUCH better with muscle. Working on my chest to try to cover up the sternum. But the DXA also showed that I can't really afford to lose much more body fat. I'm at the lowest point I can healthily maintain. So that means......we probably need to start learning to love and appreciate our unique bodies for what they are and what they can do.
Thank you for a great response, it's the learning to love you self bit I don't get - no one teaches that do they...1 -
Ok I've slept on it, I'm going to give maintenance and better lifting a go for a bit longer and see how I feel in a month or so 4
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When I reached a healthy weight, I still had a big layer of abdominal fat despite everything else being average size. At first it upset me because I had really hoped some of it would come off, but after realizing all my female relatives had extra fat in the same area, I decided to accept that I am genetically predisposed to this. I'm proud of myself for all the hard work I did rather than making happiness dependent on getting rid of fat I was probably supposed to have anyway.3
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might need to change the way you think about yourself. Forget those images on the magazine, they're all mostly photo shopped, so take some pressure off of yourself. You might not look like them, but if you don't love you, you're not helping with your body image. Stop the shame and enjoy the changes! Luv, yaself!
THIS!! ^^^ I hated my love handles, my bingo wings, my saddle bags, my massive thighs and made myself mentally pretty unhealthy obsessing over them whilst other parts wasted away on me.
Then I opened my eyes to what women legit look like. I started pole class and realised my love handles? Just a tiny extra curve as my waist is small. My bingo wings? Nope filled with muscle and even myinstructor has them when not tensed, just a woman's body! And my big old booty and thighs? I can jiggle and twerk far better than the skinny girls with no butt! It's about perspective and NOT seeing perfected images of people. Realise what your body is and love your shape!!5 -
I too wish spot reduction was possible, as I still have some belly fat with face starting to look a little gaunt. You must keep this in mind though. Everybody has this image of the perfect body (typically someone famous but not always) the problem is that is our opinion. Unfortunately, our opinion will often be someone with a totally different body style than we have or can obtain, no matter how much we exercise/lift or lose. I personally like big biceps but for me my body style is geared toward a better shoulder to waist ratio. My genes are going to limit how big my biceps can get. I've found being realistic and acceptance of the truth are key to your peace of mind. If you must have an ideal body to aspire to. Try to make sure that person has a similar style body as you. That way it is realistically attainable.1
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*rant alert*
I'm not happy with maintenance anymore, I'm 5'10 and 140lbs so a healthy weight but it's all in the wrong place! I like the idea of recomp and have been strength training a few months now but I feel like I will never put on enough muscle to make up for the fat I need to lose so I need to diet again. Parts of me are uncomfortably thin but other parts are still really fat, I'm not even sure how much weight I'd need to lose to be happy. Do any other maintainers feel like this? I'm a bit concerned that the look I'm after will be either impossible or unhealthy, I just don't like seeing fat on my body!!
You have to also consider your genetics. For example, if your body naturally wants to put more fat around in your lower body there's not much you can do about it. Muscle is good for general strength and for specific goals, but the amount of calories it burns in a resting state has been exaggerated.1 -
Ok I've slept on it, I'm going to give maintenance and better lifting a go for a bit longer and see how I feel in a month or so
OP - here is the link to the Recomp thread, check it out if you haven't yet, there is some really helpful stuff in there. Including the fact that it is long process...you may need to stick with it for longer than a month before reassessing. Don't get discouraged!
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
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