Suggestions to lower body fat?

Frosttshockk
Frosttshockk Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been doing this new routine for my chest and I've made some amazing gains, but I want to make sure I'm going overboard. My girlfriend lifts with me and watches my form, and I never use weights that make me sacrifice form. Full ROM and everything, I just want to make sure I'm not overdoing anything, because I always feel amazing and exhausted but not overly exhausted after a workout. I'm mainly looking to lower my bf% but stay in the same weight range(150-160lbs), so i know how much i weigh will go up and down from month to month.

My weight varies every morning from 154 to 158 so I like to just go with the higher weight.
Age: 21
BF%: 8
Height: 5'7"
I usually track my macros/calories in a book so I'm new to tracking it on here. The couple of days I do have tracked are accurate. 1-2 cheat meals per week (cheat meals, not cheat days) and my cheats are mainly things like bread or sushi.

Incline Barbell Bench Press : 3 x 8 165#
Barbell Bench Press: 3 x 8 165#

Cable Flyes: 3 x 18 (6 front, 6 middle, 6 bottom per set) : 35,35,25#
Superset w/ Cable Crunches w/ Rope: 3 x 12 92.5#

Dips: 4 x 8 (+25lb weight belt)
Superset w/ Leg Raises: 4 x 8-12 10#

Decline Bench Press: 3 x 8 135# (My chest is normally shot by this point)
Superset w/ Planks: 3 x 60 secs + 1 foot up or 45# on my back

Skullcrushers w/ EZ Curl Bar: 4 x 8 65#
Close-Grip Bench Press w/ EZ Curl Bar: 4 x 8 80#

I work Core on chest day (As seen above) and Obliques on my back day with the same premise as above, super setting with non-powerlifts mainly because i try to keep my workouts from 60-90 minutes. I go very heavy on leg/shoulder day which is why I don't do abs on that day. I wanted to do a 6 day split but I'm a full-time student and full-time worker, so instead I do HIIT on my rest days and Sunday I do nothing.
I have some calipers that say my chest is 5.5%bf, abs 11% bf, and legs 5% bf (Where the instructions told me to measure.) I just want to know why my abs aren't shaping up like the rest of my body. I've been consistent for well over a year now and out of a year and a half I only missed 1 week of weight training(I was out of town so I had no gym, but I still worked out with just bodyweight)

As said before, I go as heavy as possible without sacrificing form, so whats the deal?

Replies

  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
    How long have you been doing the new routine?

    Your Diary isn't open so I can really make suggestions on what food you are eating.. Are you getting enough protein ?

    Full time student and full time worker? are you getting enough rest days in?
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
    It looks like your strength training program is going well for you. Those are some nice lifts.
    I'm mainly looking to lower my bf% but stay in the same weight range(150-160lbs), so i know how much i weigh will go up and down from month to month.
    I just want to know why my abs aren't shaping up like the rest of my body. I've been consistent for well over a year now and out of a year and a half I only missed 1 week of weight training(I was out of town so I had no gym, but I still worked out with just bodyweight)
    So, it sounds like you want to get shredded. That is, you want to build lean muscle mass and reduce bodyfat, so you can get that cut look and get at least a visible four-pack?

    It's probably going to be a challenge to do without implementing some degree of cut (calorie-deficit diet). The only way to lose bodyfat is to eat less. The only problem is that it's pretty hard to build size on a calorie-deficit diet. So you may lose a little bit of muscle size while in pursuit of the 4-pack or 6-pack abs. But I think it's worth it if your goal is to get a certain aesthetic look. You may lose a little bit of size, but as you reduce bodyfat, it'll make you look cut (because the bodyfat will diminish much faster than muscle if you're lifting regularly). And once you get to a certain aesthetic, then eat at maintenance (or slightly above), in order to get bigger. And compound exercises with some isolated ab work at least 3-4 days will help your abs stay defined as you add back those calories to your diet.

    So take a look at your food diary, and see if you can reduce calories by reducing your portion sizes or substituting more protein and low-calorie options for the calorie-dense food. If you need suggestions, then open it up so that we can take a look and give you some advice. One bit of advice, try to hold off on sweets/desserts, pasta, pizza, and french fries. Those items specifically make a calorie-deficit diet a bit of a challenge.

    Good luck to you, hope you get to where you want!
  • Frosttshockk
    Frosttshockk Posts: 10 Member
    How long have you been doing the new routine?

    Your Diary isn't open so I can really make suggestions on what food you are eating.. Are you getting enough protein ?

    Full time student and full time worker? are you getting enough rest days in?

    About 2 months now, my routine was basically the same (With supersets and whatnot) for a year or so but it only took around 45 mins if I was going slow. I love this one because it hits all of the parts of my chest and lets me keep the same intensity for the whole workout, so I don't need to go down in weight or sacrifice form.

    Yeah MFP keeps being weird on me =/ It keeps resetting my goals/macros and privacy settings every day. I think it has to do with my app being wiggy, its public now but I only have 2 days logged. Like I said I always logged my food into a notebook. (Sunday was my cheat meal, hence the fat being way over my goal.)

    I workout Mon/Wed/Fri and do HIIT Tue/Thu/Sat. Sunday is my full rest day. I usually get 6-10 hours of sleep. (6 only 1 day of the week usually, rarely 2 days.)
  • Frosttshockk
    Frosttshockk Posts: 10 Member
    It looks like your strength training program is going well for you. Those are some nice lifts. So, it sounds like you want to get shredded. That is, you want to build lean muscle mass and reduce bodyfat, so you can get that cut look and get at least a visible four-pack?

    It's probably going to be a challenge to do without implementing some degree of cut (calorie-deficit diet). The only way to lose bodyfat is to eat less. The only problem is that it's pretty hard to build size on a calorie-deficit diet. So you may lose a little bit of muscle size while in pursuit of the 4-pack or 6-pack abs. But I think it's worth it if your goal is to get a certain aesthetic look. You may lose a little bit of size, but as you reduce bodyfat, it'll make you look cut (because the bodyfat will diminish much faster than muscle if you're lifting regularly). And once you get to a certain aesthetic, then eat at maintenance (or slightly above), in order to get bigger. And compound exercises with some isolated ab work at least 3-4 days will help your abs stay defined as you add back those calories to your diet.

    So take a look at your food diary, and see if you can reduce calories by reducing your portion sizes or substituting more protein and low-calorie options for the calorie-dense food. If you need suggestions, then open it up so that we can take a look and give you some advice. One bit of advice, try to hold off on sweets/desserts, pasta, pizza, and french fries. Those items specifically make a calorie-deficit diet a bit of a challenge.

    Good luck to you, hope you get to where you want!

    Exactly, I want to get shredded, I'm just trying to without losing strength. I went from 145# to 155-158# over the course of a year. Gaining weight is pretty hard for me, I eat healthy (I've never liked desserts/sweets, my pasta is whole grain and portioned correctly and I can't remember the last time I've had pizza or fries.) So far I've been just trying to meet my macros while being under my Calorie requirement, but to meet my macros it causes me to be within 200-300 cals of my range. It's just confusing because my lifting gains have been HUGE since I started meeting my macros and everything looks great/big in comparison to last year. The only thing that isn't shaping up is my stomach. I had a tiny 4 pack at 145 and I always see shredded guys at 160 for my height, so I started bulking. By that I mean slowly and over the course of a year.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
    Exactly, I want to get shredded, I'm just trying to without losing strength. I went from 145# to 155-158# over the course of a year. Gaining weight is pretty hard for me, I eat healthy (I've never liked desserts/sweets, my pasta is whole grain and portioned correctly and I can't remember the last time I've had pizza or fries.) So far I've been just trying to meet my macros while being under my Calorie requirement, but to meet my macros it causes me to be within 200-300 cals of my range. It's just confusing because my lifting gains have been HUGE since I started meeting my macros and everything looks great/big in comparison to last year. The only thing that isn't shaping up is my stomach. I had a tiny 4 pack at 145 and I always see shredded guys at 160 for my height, so I started bulking. By that I mean slowly and over the course of a year.
    Genetics and other factors play a role in how people can look at certain bodyweight/height. But just going on what you've wrote here, I'd say that you may want to play around with the numbers a bit. For a lean, 4-pack look, I am thinking that right now, 2838 calories might be a bit high. Your diet looks pretty solid, so it might be the number of calories you have to reduce?

    If you really don't want to lose strength gains, and you have patience, then I'd drop it down to 2700-2725 calories. And have most of that come from the carbs side (with the rest from protein). If you're at 1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight, then you'd be fine.

    If you want to be more aggressive, and don't mind the potential of losing some strength, then you can probably drop it down to 2500 calories. Depending on your genetics and sleep and effort, you might not lose much strength at all. And if you lose a little bit of size, it'll be off-set by the reduced bodyfat (which will make you look cut/shredded/vascular).

    You can also add in some cardio to help burn calories. Keep everything the same (food intake and weight lifting), but for more progressive approach to your goal, you could add 20-30 minutes of cardio at the end of each lifting session? Or do 10-12 minutes of HIIT cardio at the end? For a less aggressive approach, maybe add more supersets/dropsets to your routine?

    This is just my opinion. I've done the bulking/cutting thing, so I am going off my experience. But that's only anecdotal (not science). But I hope it's of some help!
  • Frosttshockk
    Frosttshockk Posts: 10 Member
    If you really don't want to lose strength gains, and you have patience, then I'd drop it down to 2700-2725 calories. And have most of that come from the carbs side (with the rest from protein). If you're at 1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight, then you'd be fine.

    If you want to be more aggressive, and don't mind the potential of losing some strength, then you can probably drop it down to 2500 calories. Depending on your genetics and sleep and effort, you might not lose much strength at all. And if you lose a little bit of size, it'll be off-set by the reduced bodyfat (which will make you look cut/shredded/vascular).

    You can also add in some cardio to help burn calories. Keep everything the same (food intake and weight lifting), but for more progressive approach to your goal, you could add 20-30 minutes of cardio at the end of each lifting session? Or do 10-12 minutes of HIIT cardio at the end? For a less aggressive approach, maybe add more supersets/dropsets to your routine?

    This is just my opinion. I've done the bulking/cutting thing, so my experience is anecdotal. Hope it's of some help!

    Yeaah, I've been getting the same replies and whatnot from other threads/sites it looks like I'm just going to have to cut my cals. Its a bit dissapointing but I know it will be easy. Losing weight is easy for me, but gaining it takes forever which is what I was afraid of. Also I usually do HIIT every other day, I only have 1 rest day. I usually do some cardio or HIIT after weight training during the summer, but those 3 months hardly do much for my bf%. Granted reaching my goals will be much easier once I finish school. Getting to the gym and working my *kitten* off isn't hard at all, I look forward to it every single day. Thanks for the input, it did indeed help!

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