Becoming more muscular

Chibigirl01
Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all,

I am new to myfitnesspal and working out in general, and was
hoping to get some feedback from some folks out there who have
had success with their fitness regimen.
I am female, 5'3", 104lbs, approximately 17-18% body fat (using a hand held body fat machine).
I would like to be more muscular all over, particularly my abs/belly.
I've found a lot of success taking strength training classes to
firm up by back, arms and legs in the past 3-4 months, but not as much on my belly.
I've tried ab exercises, but I can't seem to find a routine that will
work my abs to exhaustion in as short a period of time as other muscles.
What has worked for you? I am trying to limit my gym time to 60-90 minutes a day, max 5x week.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!
«1

Replies

  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    Are you logging your food? Abs are not made in the gym....they are made in the kitchen. If you have a diary, open it up and let us see what you are eating to support those abs.
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
    Front squats, deadlifts, and pull ups are my favorite ab exercises, Pushups are good too, but mainly work your hip flexors.

    Rigger
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Hi trail nurse, I tried to add food for today to my diary.
    The items I listed are pretty consistent with what I eat throughout the week.
    I eat a lot of asian food that isn't listed and may be hard to exactly calorie count,
    But often it consists of kimchee, tofu, and other seasoned veggies.
    I also eat ice cream and dark chocolate occasionally.
    If I were to guess, my caloric intake would be about 1500-2000 calories a day.
    Thank you!
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Hi Navyrigger, thanks for your response! I've been doing squats, dead lifts and lunges in
    the strength training classes I'm taking. I feel it mostly in my legs and back, but only a little on my abs.
    Do you use a lot of weights? The max I've used in class is about 18lbs, and on the weight lifting machines, I'm at about
    50lbs.
    I will try to incorporate more pull-ups and push-ups. Thanks again!
  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    Losing belly fat is all about a calorie deficit. Work on your diet and be patient.

    Your core muscles, like your abs, are funny muscles. You can exercise them dynamically, with sit-ups, leg-raises, hyperextensions, and the like, but one of their biggest roles is in stabilizing the body. To work on stabilizing, do planks, heavy squats, and deadlifts.

    An 18-pound deadlift is almost a waste of time. It's so light that I doubt you're getting any strength improvement at all. You're probably already strong enough to lift closer to 100 pounds (but don't start that heavy - it takes a few weeks to learn how to do a heavy deadlift safely).

    Do a real beginner strength program, like

    Starting Strength
    Stronglifts 5x5
    Strong Curves
    all-pro beginner
    New Rules of Lifting

    When the weights get heavy, your core will get hammered.

    A lot of people think light dumbbells added to a cardio routine make a strength routine. It doesn't. There is a tiny strength improvement, but mostly dumbbells just add a little intensity to the cardio. A good strength program is all about progression. The programs I mentioned all have good progression plans.
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Losing belly fat is all about a calorie deficit. Work on your diet and be patient.

    Your core muscles, like your abs, are funny muscles. You can exercise them dynamically, with sit-ups, leg-raises, hyperextensions, and the like, but one of their biggest roles is in stabilizing the body. To work on stabilizing, do planks, heavy squats, and deadlifts.

    An 18-pound deadlift is almost a waste of time. It's so light that I doubt you're getting any strength improvement at all. You're probably already strong enough to lift closer to 100 pounds (but don't start that heavy - it takes a few weeks to learn how to do a heavy deadlift safely).

    Do a real beginner strength program, like

    Starting Strength
    Stronglifts 5x5
    Strong Curves
    all-pro beginner
    New Rules of Lifting

    When the weights get heavy, your core will get hammered.

    A lot of people think light dumbbells added to a cardio routine make a strength routine. It doesn't. There is a tiny strength improvement, but mostly dumbbells just add a little intensity to the cardio. A good strength program is all about progression. The programs I mentioned all have good progression plans.

    Thanks rick_po! I've read a lot about Strong Lifts for beginners and is mostly why I started weight lifting in the first place.
    When you say it takes a few weeks to get to the weight I can probably lift, are you saying I should start from where I am now
    at 50lbs and work my way up to 100 within the next few weeks? I hope that's not a silly question.
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Bump
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
    I saw an ab routine a while ago. It consisted of a few basic ab exercises that are done with heavy weights.

    Here's the routine (keep in mind these are the weights the OP could handle - for yourself, use weights that you can handle):


    Ab Crunch Machine: Slow controlled reps, focus on negative
    95 x 10 warm-up
    135 x 10
    145 x 10
    155 x 10
    160 x 10

    Roman Chair Leg Lifts: Don't use weight until comfortable weightless, also try to keep your back OFF the support! This is much harder but it works.
    15lbs x 10
    15lbs x 10
    17.5lbs x 10
    17.5lbs x 10

    Decline Sit-Ups: Weighted
    45lb plate x 15 reps x 4 sets


    It was pulled from this thread here, where tere's a lot of discussion about it: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=123616661

    But everyone who tried it had very good results.

    It made more sense to me than those stupid hippie routines that have you doing hundreds of crunches and leg raises. You train every other muscle with heavy weights, so why would your abs be different?
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    Hi trail nurse, I tried to add food for today to my diary.
    The items I listed are pretty consistent with what I eat throughout the week.
    I eat a lot of asian food that isn't listed and may be hard to exactly calorie count,
    But often it consists of kimchee, tofu, and other seasoned veggies.
    I also eat ice cream and dark chocolate occasionally.
    If I were to guess, my caloric intake would be about 1500-2000 calories a day.
    Thank you!

    You really need to log as close as you can even if you have to create your own recipes and meals. Scan the bar codes on the foods that you eat. You could be underestimating and don't even know it. No excuses!

    If you are not eating enough you won't be able to build muscles including abs. With 3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise.....your TDEE is 1990. To build muscle you must eat 20% above this. 2388 is what you need to consume consistently to gain muscle.

    I see only one entry in your diary and if that's all the protein you are eating, you need more than that.

    At your weight....I wouldn't be doing an cardio either. Sixty minutes weight training is all you should be doing. It's going to take time if you are a hard gainer.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member

    An 18-pound deadlift is almost a waste of time. It's so light that I doubt you're getting any strength improvement at all. You're probably already strong enough to lift closer to 100 pounds (but don't start that heavy - it takes a few weeks to learn how to do a heavy deadlift safely).

    Thanks rick_po! I've read a lot about Strong Lifts for beginners and is mostly why I started weight lifting in the first place.
    When you say it takes a few weeks to get to the weight I can probably lift, are you saying I should start from where I am now
    at 50lbs and work my way up to 100 within the next few weeks? I hope that's not a silly question.
    What I believe he means is that you should learn good deadlift form with lighter weights and work up to your 100 lbs at 5-15 lb increments. Bad form on a deadlift will hurt you when the weight gets heavy.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    What has worked for me is a combination of weights, circuits and boxing, coupled with some cycling and running.
  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    Thanks rick_po! I've read a lot about Strong Lifts for beginners and is mostly why I started weight lifting in the first place.
    When you say it takes a few weeks to get to the weight I can probably lift, are you saying I should start from where I am now
    at 50lbs and work my way up to 100 within the next few weeks? I hope that's not a silly question.
    What I believe he means is that you should learn good deadlift form with lighter weights and work up to your 100 lbs at 5-15 lb increments. Bad form on a deadlift will hurt you when the weight gets heavy.

    Exactly. Most beginner strength programs that train deadlifts will start around 45 pounds (an empty bar). You'll often train deadlifts once every 4 days, and add 5-15 pounds every time you do deadlifts.

    The details are different in each program, but that's typical. Pick a good program and follow the instructions they give, and you should have a lot of success.
  • jrodri0105
    jrodri0105 Posts: 91 Member
    With your current stats, its most likely due to having no muscles. Build some muscles by increasing your calorie intake to 2300.. Try to aim for 1 b per week. Stop till you feel you have build enough muscle. & then work on fat loss again while maintaining the muscle.
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    I saw an ab routine a while ago. It consisted of a few basic ab exercises that are done with heavy weights.

    Here's the routine (keep in mind these are the weights the OP could handle - for yourself, use weights that you can handle):


    Ab Crunch Machine: Slow controlled reps, focus on negative
    95 x 10 warm-up
    135 x 10
    145 x 10
    155 x 10
    160 x 10

    Roman Chair Leg Lifts: Don't use weight until comfortable weightless, also try to keep your back OFF the support! This is much harder but it works.
    15lbs x 10
    15lbs x 10
    17.5lbs x 10
    17.5lbs x 10

    Decline Sit-Ups: Weighted
    45lb plate x 15 reps x 4 sets


    It was pulled from this thread here, where tere's a lot of discussion about it: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=123616661

    But everyone who tried it had very good results.

    It made more sense to me than those stupid hippie routines that have you doing hundreds of crunches and leg raises. You train every other muscle with heavy weights, so why would your abs be different?

    Thanks walterc7! I will probably try these without weights and gradually add weights on.
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Hi trail nurse, I tried to add food for today to my diary.
    The items I listed are pretty consistent with what I eat throughout the week.
    I eat a lot of asian food that isn't listed and may be hard to exactly calorie count,
    But often it consists of kimchee, tofu, and other seasoned veggies.
    I also eat ice cream and dark chocolate occasionally.
    If I were to guess, my caloric intake would be about 1500-2000 calories a day.
    Thank you!

    You really need to log as close as you can even if you have to create your own recipes and meals. Scan the bar codes on the foods that you eat. You could be underestimating and don't even know it. No excuses!

    If you are not eating enough you won't be able to build muscles including abs. With 3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise.....your TDEE is 1990. To build muscle you must eat 20% above this. 2388 is what you need to consume consistently to gain muscle.

    I see only one entry in your diary and if that's all the protein you are eating, you need more than that.

    At your weight....I wouldn't be doing an cardio either. Sixty minutes weight training is all you should be doing. It's going to take time if you are a hard gainer.

    Yes mam! I've been adding to my food diary for a
    Couple days now and I see that I eat more junk food than
    I previously thought, but also am under eating my caloric goal of
    1980 calories. Will work on upping to 2300.
  • Chibigirl01
    Chibigirl01 Posts: 10
    Thanks for the clarification shor0814 and rick_po!
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I didn't see it specifically as I skimmed (forgive me if it's already been mentioned) but also make sure you're getting plenty of protein in addition to eating at a surplus. You aren't going to gain muscle without it. .8 - 1g per lb of lean body mass is generally recommended.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    I've tried ab exercises, but I can't seem to find a routine that will
    work my abs to exhaustion in as short a period of time as other muscles.
    What has worked for you? I am trying to limit my gym time to 60-90 minutes a day, max 5x week.
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    this is exactly what you are asking for. super burn, always done in under 10 min. progressive
  • MrTolerable
    MrTolerable Posts: 1,593 Member
    at that body fat percentage for being a lady you are very close to abs, the main girl i'm dating now has 14% body fat and she has amazing abs.

    I recommend doing weighted abs in various positions and weighted obliques... your too skinny to look fat from weighted abs and if you flex the six pack will become visible.

    just my $.02 :wink:
  • w734q672
    w734q672 Posts: 578 Member
    one armed pullups!

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