Beating your "body type"

elizadfree
elizadfree Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey y'all,

I've always been told I could never get a flat stomach, specifically because of my "apple" shape. I have super fit people in my family who STILL keep weight in their stomachs, which makes me lose a lot of hope (we're Mediterranean, if that explains anything?). I was wondering if anyone found a way to "beat" what they thought their body was predisposed to, and if so, how?

For context, I'm 5'3", SW 131, CW 125, GW 122 but looking to be fairly muscular. I've always been relatively athletic and have cut most processed & starchy carbs out of my diet- I eat high fat and high protein, mostly whole foods unless I'm caught in a bind. I do BBG workouts 6 days a week (instead of 3), and mix in boot camp and spin classes for cardio. I do yoga for rest days. If anyone has tips and tricks I'm all ears!

Replies

  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    Body type shouldn’t really matter. It just depends on body composition (muscle to fat ratio). Carbs get a bad wrap, they are just fuel for your workouts. As long as you’re within your calories they aren’t going to become fat. From what I’ve seen of BBG, it seems to be high reps with low weight. It’d be quicker to lift heavy with progressive overload/heavy weights/low reps to build the muscle part of the “muscle to fat ratio” for the body composition you’re looking for. BBG also seems to have the unnecessary “clean eating” rules as well. (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just going by what I've seen on instagram)

    I’d be interested to see what some of the really knowledgeable heavy lifting ladies think.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Getting a flat stomach is correctly mentioned above. While you can't change your genetics or your shape, you can control your body fat %. Almost every female I've ever seen in the 17%-21% body fat range has commendable core and abs.
    But believe it or not, they train their whole body overall. Unless you're going for muscular endurance (high rep/low weights), it's better to do a program where the weight is much more challenging with a rep range between 5-10.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • elizadfree
    elizadfree Posts: 6 Member
    I have binge eating disorder so cutting out processed carbs is necessary for me because it's eliminating a lot of my trigger foods. Veggies and unsalted nuts are essentially the only way I can get the carbs in. I also can't do the BBG recommended diet, because of said disorder (plus the fact that I'm a poor college student).

    I've never heard of progressive overload(?), but if BBG isn't helping me get to where I want to go, I'd love to switch it up as soon as possible! Do you have any good websites/resources/threads you'd recommend to get me started?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Look at Stronglifts 5x5.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    Ah ok, well that is a good move eliminating trigger foods (sorry to hear about the binge eating disorder. I know it can be rough). Like I said, the BBG diet is unnecessarily restrictive (old school “broscience” clean eating) so I wouldn’t worry about it.
    Progressive overload is, lifting progressively heavier and heavier weights. It’s how you make your muscles grow. There are several lifting programs “New Rules of Lifting for Women”, “Strong Curves” and “Stronglifts 5x5” are good ones that are recommended a lot.

    These are a couple examples of what changing your body composition by adding muscle can do:

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    same-weight-different-shape.jpg


  • elizadfree
    elizadfree Posts: 6 Member
    Thank y'all so much for the help!! I'll definitely check these out and get on top of switching my routines.
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Look at Stronglifts 5x5.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    What if you don't have a gym membership or heavy weights at home? Can you modify with barbells?
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    emily_fox wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Look at Stronglifts 5x5.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    What if you don't have a gym membership or heavy weights at home? Can you modify with barbells?

    In that case, a bodyweight program such as "You Are Your Own Gym" or "Convict Conditioning" may be a good option. The progression is different in those, but it's still there.
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    woops, meant 'dumbbells'. But that's good to know. I am an "apple" shape, as well. So I will definitely check out "You are your own gym". Thanks so much
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    emily_fox wrote: »
    woops, meant 'dumbbells'. But that's good to know. I am an "apple" shape, as well. So I will definitely check out "You are your own gym". Thanks so much

    I just downloaded that app today and I'm super excited to start tomorrow.

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