Advice for a large frame - How to lose the belly and gain muscle still

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Beast4242
Beast4242 Posts: 83 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any advice someone is willing to impart please do!

A little about me and what I am doing. I am 6'6" tall with a big frame on me, I am currently 250 lbs and have plateaued on the scale but am still gaining muscle based on a body fat handheld gauge thingy. I started working out last September and have gone from approximately 32% body fat to 25% body fat. In January I started IIFYM and am getting better at that. I began by eating 3000 calories at a 40/30/30 rate and felt like that seemed to be more of a maintenance range for me since after a month I hadn't lost any weight but still gained a small amount of muscle (about 0.5% loss of body fat) I have since recalculated my TDEE and BMR and feel like 2400 calories is more of a good goal with the same 40/30/30 ratio.

As for my routine I workout mon-fri every week almost never missing a day. I lift different parts of the body each day (i.e. legs one day, chest and biceps the next, etc) with one day usually just cardio (usually treadmill or basketball) I usually do 3 sets of each workout but maybe I should change that to 5X5? But I am still gaining muscle and seeing changes in my body strength.

My problem is that I really would like to see more of a difference in my mid section. I would like to continue to gain muscle and keep the size but lose inches in the mid section. Should I be doing more cardio? Maybe more core exercises? Maybe I just need to continue what I am doing and be patient? Any thoughts or advice?

Replies

  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    You probably won't see any definition in your midsection until your bodyfat gets in the mid to low teens
  • Beast4242
    Beast4242 Posts: 83 Member
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    Yeah I have some love handles I just want to start shrinking! I figured I still got another 10% body fat to loose before there is any real good looking muscles showing up.

    @herrspoons Do you recommend at this point moving towards adding more cardio then? is that what you did to get down the first 17 pounds from the 240 weight?
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    A good 5x5 compound movement program would open up time for you to start getting some cardio in. However, fat loss comes from what and how much you eat, not what you burn.

    To answer your question of herrspoons, patience, persistence and diligence.
  • Mitchbay91
    Mitchbay91 Posts: 8 Member
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    You sound a bit like me dude.
    I'm ~6"4' and ~230 pound (193cm and 103kg living in Australia)
    I've been actively trying to lose weight for about 3 years now.
    I've been fairly lean at times. Down at around 210 pound (95kg), which is fairly lean for my frame.
    Even being the leanest and the lightest I'd been in my adult life I still had a bit of belly fat.
    I think ultimately its more about patience and perseverance.
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
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    Drop your B/F. You cant target love handles only. However, you can emphasize or target certain ab muscles during your ab routines to make them look more appealing once your B/F has came down. Also, remember that your working abs during different workouts ( squats, Deads ect). Cardio is a must but the higher the cardio intensity the harder it is to keep all of your muscle. Not sure how long you've been working out on a deficit but if you havnt noticed anything in say 2 weeks ( visibly or with measurements ). Then your diet is still off and you might need to still adjust things. Just don't drop carbs all at once. I would drop them in weekly increments of 0.25. Good luck
  • Beast4242
    Beast4242 Posts: 83 Member
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    I have been on the lower deficit for just a week and have started to see small decrease in weight (about 1 lb so far). I had a work trip though and was hard to keep my routine through the trip so I am really want to see how I do the next couple of weeks. In the past my diet has been horrible so It is a process to learn how to eat right but I feel like I am getting there.

    I think I am going to start a 5X5 program to add a bit more of cardio. I am okay with it taking time I just wanted to make sure I am on the right track. I really don't want to lose any muscle I have gained so I don't want to go hard on cardio.

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