For those who were extremely fat and now have a six-pack

adamsilva

OK my current workout plan is this and what I have been doing for the past two weeks with some bodyfat loss but not as fast as I'd like:

3-4 runs a week - average mileage of 20 miles
heavy lifting - 5x a week - alternating chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders, and abs (only been doing one workout a week past 2 weeks will be increasing to 3)

Diet - net calories 1600 a day (past month I have been cheating like twice a week badly 4000+ which could explain my plateau), 150g protein (I've been getting around 115 daily for the past month)

Supps - EC+ synephrine 20mg x 2/daily, maybe T3

Current Stats:
5'3", 150lbs, 15% bf (guestimate based on various opinions of my pics relative to other pics)

So if I cut out the cheat days and shift towards more protein I should make good progress right. I'm gonna post pics in a month.

mate wheres your Leg workouts! also dont just guess your BF. there are enough people talking crap on here.

gashinshotan

haha what do you think my BF is - check my profile pics with my shirt off. Also I started taking creatine today because my strength hasn't gone up at all since I started lifting (guess cuz of the low cals). Also I'm avoiding leg workouts cuz when I run I do 5-9 miles and 1/3-1/2 of the routes I run are steep hills (30-45 degree slope) and I want to keep my endurance over speed

OK my current workout plan is this and what I have been doing for the past two weeks with some bodyfat loss but not as fast as I'd like:

3-4 runs a week - average mileage of 20 miles
heavy lifting - 5x a week - alternating chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders, and abs (only been doing one workout a week past 2 weeks will be increasing to 3)

Diet - net calories 1600 a day (past month I have been cheating like twice a week badly 4000+ which could explain my plateau), 150g protein (I've been getting around 115 daily for the past month)

Supps - EC+ synephrine 20mg x 2/daily, maybe T3

Current Stats:
5'3", 150lbs, 15% bf (guestimate based on various opinions of my pics relative to other pics)

So if I cut out the cheat days and shift towards more protein I should make good progress right. I'm gonna post pics in a month.

mate wheres your Leg workouts! also dont just guess your BF. there are enough people talking crap on here.

adamsilva

I am not going to guess get it done properly if you REALLY need to know because skin folding and water retention can alter your "guesstimate". As one of my mates has experienced. want abs make your sqauts and deadlifts priority. p. s how the hell did you eat 4000 cals? lol. in a day?

gashinshotan

Non-flexing pic (what I really think matters):

What do you think I am then? My friend who got his BF measured is 14% and I have way more definition than him so I'm just basing it off that. Mostly valentines crap (i.e. cakes) - prob not 4000 more like 3500 but still. Do I really need squats if I'm running hills? My fastest mile time is 5:50 and I've done a long run of 13.5 miles so I'm afraid of losing my endurance if I start doing heavy leg work.

I am not going to guess get it done properly if you REALLY need to know because skin folding and water retention can alter your "guesstimate". As one of my mates has experienced. want abs make your sqauts and deadlifts priority. p. s how the hell did you eat 4000 cals? lol. in a day?

cgsr

Well how long do you think? I'm doing crunches on a decline ab bench (along with working out everything else except legs cuz I run hills for that) right now and am running about an 800 daily caloric deficit.

maybe you need to switch it up..and increase your calories... counter intuitive, yes, but it worked for me once I started to plateau. Your body could be in starvation mode, so its just holding on to all them fats!

chrisdavey

Silv: cal deficit reduces as you get leaner. Someone at 25% BF can have a much larger deficit of say 1000cals a day (theoretical 2lb/wk) and as long as they are doing strength training and eating adequate protein, the majority of weight lost "should" be from fat.

Someone who is leaner, say 10%, may have a much smaller deficit of around 250/day. This is targeting .5lb/wk. Reason being that as you get leaner the body wants to hold onto as much fat as possible so if the deficit is too high, a higher portion of weight lost will be muscle. (which you don't want as this lowers your BMR & TDEE, that's what I did a few years back )

I also average it out over a week as GP79 does as I eat more on workout days.

Also, 4000cals is easy :P I did over 5000 in one meal in Japan LOL

gashinshotan: protein intake seems fine as is to me. Are you saying 20miles per run 3x a week? Or in total?

What are you're main goals? You can't be marathon runner/powerlifter/body builder. Pick one

BF% is just a number at the end of the day, doesn't really matter. Get some calipers & take readings in mm & that will show progress or not.

At 150lbs, I'd estimate maintenance around 2100 - 2400cals but seeing as how you run a lot it could be a fair bit higher. What gross intakes have you been having?

Go to reports, get avg gross cals intaken over the last 3 months. Check your weight loss progress in that time. You should be able to work out an estimate of maintenance from that.

gp79

OK my current workout plan is this and what I have been doing for the past two weeks with some bodyfat loss but not as fast as I'd like:

3-4 runs a week - average mileage of 20 miles
heavy lifting - 5x a week - alternating chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders, and abs (only been doing one workout a week past 2 weeks will be increasing to 3)

Diet - net calories 1600 a day (past month I have been cheating like twice a week badly 4000+ which could explain my plateau), 150g protein (I've been getting around 115 daily for the past month)

Supps - EC+ synephrine 20mg x 2/daily, maybe T3

Current Stats:
5'3", 150lbs, 15% bf (guestimate based on various opinions of my pics relative to other pics)

So if I cut out the cheat days and shift towards more protein I should make good progress right. I'm gonna post pics in a month.

First off, I think you're doing too much exercise. You are in a calorie deficit which also means your body is recovering at a retarded rate. Just back your exercise down to 3x per week and if you want to add 1 day of light cardio in there, go for it.

5'3" 150 lbs, working out 3x per week puts you at a Weekly TEE of just under 15000 calories...we'll call it 15k calories. You do what you want with those calories but at the end of the week, if you're coming in at 15k or under, you should have a loss of 1lb. This is the total amount you put into your mouth. You want to go a day where you eat 500 cals...and then a day where you do 4000, fine, break them up however you see fit.

gp79

Non-flexing pic (what I really think matters):

What do you think I am then? My friend who got his BF measured is 14% and I have way more definition than him so I'm just basing it off that. Mostly valentines crap (i.e. cakes) - prob not 4000 more like 3500 but still. Do I really need squats if I'm running hills? My fastest mile time is 5:50 and I've done a long run of 13.5 miles so I'm afraid of losing my endurance if I start doing heavy leg work.

I am not going to guess get it done properly if you REALLY need to know because skin folding and water retention can alter your "guesstimate". As one of my mates has experienced. want abs make your sqauts and deadlifts priority. p. s how the hell did you eat 4000 cals? lol. in a day?

I just had my body fat tested yesterday with a Bod Pod. I measured 17.6%. My photo is 1 week old. Photos in my profile have dates on them. Everyone is different. I'm guessing you have a higher BF percentage than you think you do. I'm guessing 18%...but not that it matters. Follow some of the excellent advice you've been given in this thread and go out and make it happen.

gashinshotan

Dammit 18%.... here we go again.... I hate feeling hungry all the time but I guess I gotta do what works...

Non-flexing pic (what I really think matters):

What do you think I am then? My friend who got his BF measured is 14% and I have way more definition than him so I'm just basing it off that. Mostly valentines crap (i.e. cakes) - prob not 4000 more like 3500 but still. Do I really need squats if I'm running hills? My fastest mile time is 5:50 and I've done a long run of 13.5 miles so I'm afraid of losing my endurance if I start doing heavy leg work.

I am not going to guess get it done properly if you REALLY need to know because skin folding and water retention can alter your "guesstimate". As one of my mates has experienced. want abs make your sqauts and deadlifts priority. p. s how the hell did you eat 4000 cals? lol. in a day?

I just had my body fat tested yesterday with a Bod Pod. I measured 17.6%. My photo is 1 week old. Photos in my profile have dates on them. Everyone is different. I'm guessing you have a higher BF percentage than you think you do. I'm guessing 18%...but not that it matters. Follow some of the excellent advice you've been given in this thread and go out and make it happen.

sizzlinoverthefat

Having seen your ECA log here's my advice.

Eat in a moderate deficit
1g protein per lb LBM
.35 - .45 g fat per lb of Body weight
Work out 3 x per week - lifting heavy

Do ALL of these things together...CONSISTENTLY and things will happen...IN TIME

And stop relying on ECA. It's not magic.

I concur with this^

Huffdogg

I cannot emphasize enough that the massive amounts of running are NOT helping you, and are quite possibly even sabotaging you, on your road to cutting up. Others have mentioned this, but:

1) Do heavy, compound lifts 3x/ week. Squats and deads are better core work than a barrel full of crunches
2) If you want to do ab-centric work, do something like weighted hanging leg raises, hanging straight leg raises, planks, or side planks. Heavy, hard, and moderate numbers.
3) Building muscle helps muscle grow. Growing muscles are easier to see. Feed the muscle growth, but keep a *slight* deficit so your body has to still dig into your fat reserves.
4) massive amounts of steady-state cardio will cut into your body's ability to recover and rebuild muscle. If you really want some lung work, do 5 minutes of steady state, a 4 minute HIIT cycle, and a 4 minute cooldown. Get in, hit it HARD, and get out. Just like your weight lifting.

engineman312

read about Saint here: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/06/13/60-pounds-overweight-to-6-pack-abs/

btdublin

Excellent thread. Yes you are definitely a higher BF% - prob between 15%-20% somewhere. Get it tested. I was surprised, closer to 30% than 25% that I thought I was. Agree with those above, less cardio, more heavy lifts. You cannot miss squats. Gets the whole body pumping better than anything and next to deadlifts.

Above poster linking to Nerdfitness - Saint is a great example!

solarpower03

Well I know I have a 4 pack... I can barely see it now but when I was 8% bf 5 years ago I only had a hard 4 pack - so is it just the bottom two abs that need to be developed?

for most skinny/ average people it would take roughly 1 to 2 years. For most overweight/obese people it would be roughly 5 years or more. It really is a transformation that takes not only hard work with your body, but your mind.

Look at the leangains IF protocol.

Caper85

At my highest weight I was 594. Today I'm around 515. Anyway, I have been told that no matter what I do I will never ever have a 6 pack b/c of the damage I've done to the skin.

KiiAttitude

i have lost over 200lbs and im now a fitness instructor i train everyday 3 hours plus + eat really clean healthy diets , no alcohol and no reformed sugar ect, i have great abdominal muscles but rome wasnt built in a day its going to take a few years as your muscles need work , like someone mentioned its a slow but rewarding process!.

Zarienz

Totally agree. Squats and deadlifts kill the core...

BlackRangerX

did you turn into a slob in two weeks?

it takes a long time to get ripped into a six pack

:laugh: :laugh: .. Sorry but that was funny..


BTW, your body % has to be around the 10-8% range, depending on your height of course, to have that "sizzling" six pack... About 12-13%, to possibly see a 2 pack..

Topsking2010

Bump

Becky_Boodle

At my highest weight I was 594. Today I'm around 515. Anyway, I have been told that no matter what I do I will never ever have a 6 pack b/c of the damage I've done to the skin.

congrats on your progress

KellyBurton1

i have lost over 200lbs and im now a fitness instructor i train everyday 3 hours plus + eat really clean healthy diets , no alcohol and no reformed sugar ect, i have great abdominal muscles but rome wasnt built in a day its going to take a few years as your muscles need work , like someone mentioned its a slow but rewarding process!.

3 hours everyday? Is this what is really needed?
Not being unrepectful here. Just seems Im not doing enough.

chrisdavey

i have lost over 200lbs and im now a fitness instructor i train everyday 3 hours plus + eat really clean healthy diets , no alcohol and no reformed sugar ect, i have great abdominal muscles but rome wasnt built in a day its going to take a few years as your muscles need work , like someone mentioned its a slow but rewarding process!.

3 hours everyday? Is this what is really needed?
Not being unrepectful here. Just seems Im not doing enough.

No 3hrs a day of exercise is not needed. However doing so would allow you to eat a metric $hitload of food and still lose weight. Eat into you're recovery abilities though.

Strength 3x a week & some cardio stuff on other days is a good overall plan IMO.

KellyBurton1

i have lost over 200lbs and im now a fitness instructor i train everyday 3 hours plus + eat really clean healthy diets , no alcohol and no reformed sugar ect, i have great abdominal muscles but rome wasnt built in a day its going to take a few years as your muscles need work , like someone mentioned its a slow but rewarding process!.

3 hours everyday? Is this what is really needed?
Not being unrepectful here. Just seems Im not doing enough.

No 3hrs a day of exercise is not needed. However doing so would allow you to eat a metric $hitload of food and still lose weight. Eat into you're recovery abilities though.

Strength 3x a week & some cardio stuff on other days is a good overall plan IMO.

Thanks, makes me feel better! I've been doing just so with my excerise. But I have realize with this post that I have to be patient with any progress. and I only started to be more consistant with strenght traing in the past few weeks. Although I've been doing it for 2 years andI love the weights more than cardio anyday. But I still do some cardio throughout the week. Im in competive vollyball and get a great workout there and I have noticed my strenght and endurance has gotten alot better.

PercivalHackworth

It took me around a year to have my 6 packs - from 25% to 5% - and around 5 months to go grom 17 to 5
No secret - diet and commitment (6 packs appear under 10 bf)

chrisdavey

i have lost over 200lbs and im now a fitness instructor i train everyday 3 hours plus + eat really clean healthy diets , no alcohol and no reformed sugar ect, i have great abdominal muscles but rome wasnt built in a day its going to take a few years as your muscles need work , like someone mentioned its a slow but rewarding process!.

3 hours everyday? Is this what is really needed?
Not being unrepectful here. Just seems Im not doing enough.

No 3hrs a day of exercise is not needed. However doing so would allow you to eat a metric $hitload of food and still lose weight. Eat into you're recovery abilities though.

Strength 3x a week & some cardio stuff on other days is a good overall plan IMO.

Thanks, makes me feel better! I've been doing just so with my excerise. But I have realize with this post that I have to be patient with any progress. and I only started to be more consistant with strenght traing in the past few weeks. Although I've been doing it for 2 years andI love the weights more than cardio anyday. But I still do some cardio throughout the week. Im in competive vollyball and get a great workout there and I have noticed my strenght and endurance has gotten alot better.

Sounds liike you're on the right track Patience + persistence = progress.

fitaliciag

take a good look at what you are eating......it may not be enough. i had that problem