I want muscles!!

Okay I know it all depends on who you are and your body. I have met my goal weight and I am trying to really tone up, get a six pack, and or abs at all haha. I worked out about 3 times a week and now I am going 6 times a week, sometimes 2 times a day. I am 5'6" 127 and my BF is 22% give or take. I do still have fat to lose, hips, belly and thighs. Do I still eat at a deflict? I have been eating around 1600 and weight is stilling coming off. For my workout I do a warm up on cardio then I hit the weights. What can help me target my abs and hips??

TIA

Heavy compounds: Squats and Deadlifts......

for nice abs, arms and chest I do push ups, planks and bicycle sit ups. Like insanity no weights needed..
I do use weights though for overall fitness.

Okay I know it all depends on who you are and your body. I have met my goal weight and I am trying to really tone up, get a six pack, and or abs at all haha. I worked out about 3 times a week and now I am going 6 times a week, sometimes 2 times a day. I am 5'6" 127 and my BF is 22% give or take. I do still have fat to lose, hips, belly and thighs. Do I still eat at a deflict? I have been eating around 1600 and weight is stilling coming off. For my workout I do a warm up on cardio then I hit the weights. What can help me target my abs and hips??

TIA

If you go the heavy lifting route (and you should ) then you don't want to be training too much. 3 x per week - with a day between sessions - will let your muscles recover and heal. Do some cardio on non-lifting days.

I am still in the early stages of my weight loss. I have only lost 30 lbs total with another 90 to go. I've already started bodyweight and weight training now, so that I will hopefully gain muscles as I lose fat. I workout at home and would like to add dead lifts to my workouts but only have dumbbells. Can I do dead lifts effectively with heavy dumbbells only? Or will I need the bar or barbells instead?

bumping....I'm also at my goal and working on losing body fat...curious to see what others have to say.

Eat at maintenance, at least. Lift full body with heavy compound lifts (more bang for your buck), three times a week (non-consecutive days) and continually focus on correct form and trying to push more weight or more reps. Look into New Rules of Lifting for Women (amazon) or Strong Lifts 5x5 (free pdf).

That will work quickest for body recomp goals - but it does take time. I have been lifting (while at goal weight) for a year now, and still see areas I want to improve on.

Okay thanks everyone! Do you guys eat at maintenance? More or less? Guess I need to ask someone how to do all that. To make sure I am doing it right Blah!

I've been in a similar boat since October. I got to my goal weight, then really cranked up my exercise. I did Insanity first, and while I had positive results from that, I think I've had much better results on a heavy lifting program (Starting Strength, but I've moved onto 5/3/1 in the past week). I'm definitely nowhere near where I want to be, but I'm getting there... slowly...

I eat at maintenance and eat back calories I burn lifting (using MFPs estimate). I don't know if I'm gaining muscle or losing fat, but my weight is the same, and I'm definitely more defined around my shoulders, a little around my chest and not much at all around the belly. I'm hoping that sticking with it will keep the definition moving down my body until I get where I want, but even if it doesn't I'm enjoying lifting a lot. I like feeling stronger, and i like going to the gym knowing what to expect out of myself, so I'm not wasting time finding a machine to work on for a few minutes until I wander to another one.

What do you do for your workouts? Are you doing a program? a lot of cardio? machines only?

I lift 4 days a week, a splits program that incorporates the 4 major compound lifts (overhead press, squat, dead lift, bench press)

I weigh a little less than you (125, so negligible) and have maybe a 1-2% less body fat, so not that different. I've been cutting at 1500 plus exercise (usually around 1700-1800 a day) and am going back up to maintenance for a while because I want to more than any other reason.

Remember that at this size, the difference between cut, maintenance, and bulk is very few calories. Maintenance for me is 1700 plus exercise (right around 1900-2000). I bulk slowly at 2200+/-.

Body recomp does take a long time, but it is so worth it. Take advantage of your youth and the newbie gains that come with heavy lifting.

*Headdesk*


ETA: You won't get bulky lifting. Ever. Ask any of the ladies who have tried to get bulky on purpose - its tough work. Eat and lift; you will lose fat and gain definition.

ETA II: I have ran a short bulk, will be doing another full bulk in the fall. Am I bulky?

I'm currently at 17.2% bodyfat and I'm starting to see definition, I'm 5'7 and about 133-134lbs.

my next goal is to get to 15% body fat and I don't care about the weight.

To get to where I am now is TDEE - 20% and a lot of HITT training. I also do some lifting (twice a week).

To continue to 'cut/define' my body, I started adding women who are already there and I'm peeking at what they've done to achieve their goals.

My next step is to more lifting - heavier probably and start Insanity again since I had to stop last time due to illness. I workout 5 days a week for 1/2 hour to an hour MAX and I make sure I take in protein after my workouts. That is super important!!!

We may be able to help each other if you want to add me? Kind of in the same boat

Just realized we are about the same height/weight. I am 5'6.5 and fluctuate between 125-130, around 18%BF

I am still in the early stages of my weight loss. I have only lost 30 lbs total with another 90 to go. I've already started bodyweight and weight training now, so that I will hopefully gain muscles as I lose fat. I workout at home and would like to add dead lifts to my workouts but only have dumbbells. Can I do dead lifts effectively with heavy dumbbells only? Or will I need the bar or barbells instead?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/stiff-legged-dumbbell-deadlift

thanks for the link!