Ideal Weight but Still Look Fat, and Not Skinny Fat
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Traveler120 wrote: »I see you have edited your post. Drop some cardio, add much more weight training. I'm 5'4" and 140 lbs and have a pretty flat stomach for a 140 pounder. Lots of weight training. (And not a single sit up or crunch)vivelajackie wrote: »I can read. Totally editing what I suggested in my previous comment. I still stand by holy crap that's a lot of cardio though. It's not unusual to have a bit of a pooch though.
150 minutes per week is a lot of cardio?? LOL
FYI, the World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes/week of cardio as the minimum and 300 minutes/week as optimal.
http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/
"...For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or engage in 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week."
She originally said 150 hours and then corrected it.0 -
French_Peasant wrote: »Traveler120 wrote: »I see you have edited your post. Drop some cardio, add much more weight training. I'm 5'4" and 140 lbs and have a pretty flat stomach for a 140 pounder. Lots of weight training. (And not a single sit up or crunch)vivelajackie wrote: »I can read. Totally editing what I suggested in my previous comment. I still stand by holy crap that's a lot of cardio though. It's not unusual to have a bit of a pooch though.
150 minutes per week is a lot of cardio?? LOL
FYI, the World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes/week of cardio as the minimum and 300 minutes/week as optimal.
http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/
"...For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or engage in 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week."
She originally said 150 hours and then corrected it.
Everybody knows that.0 -
If you are getting bored just standing there counting reps, you might want to consider a crossfit or bootcamp style class--that way you can get your lifting in while shaking things up.
Also, since you like to run outside, you can create your own intensive, resistance-focused bootcamp by incorporating bodyweight exercises along your running route--every 5 or 10 minutes, stop and do 15 push-ups, 25 triceps dips on a park bench, wind sprints up and down some flights of stairs, 15 box jumps onto steps or benches, pull-ups on a jungle gym or tree branch, walking lunges across any bridge you cross, jumping jacks, and all kinds of fun plyometrics with lunges and squats. Run with a resistance band and you can have even more fun of all sorts. All guaranteed to kick your butt while you enjoy the beauties of nature.12 -
French_Peasant wrote: »If you are getting bored just standing there counting reps, you might want to consider a crossfit or bootcamp style class--that way you can get your lifting in while shaking things up.
Also, since you like to run outside, you can create your own intensive, resistance-focused bootcamp by incorporating bodyweight exercises along your running route--every 5 or 10 minutes, stop and do 15 push-ups, 25 triceps dips on a park bench, wind sprints up and down some flights of stairs, 15 box jumps onto steps or benches, pull-ups on a jungle gym or tree branch, walking lunges across any bridge you cross, jumping jacks, and all kinds of fun plyometrics with lunges and squats. Run with a resistance band and you can have even more fun of all sorts. All guaranteed to kick your butt while you enjoy the beauties of nature.
This is an excellent idea!
There are also videos that incorporate cardio and resistance work like 30 day or Beginner Shred, The Firm or things like Body Pump classes. If you don't want to spend money, I believe there are things like Fitness Blender on youtube where you can find body weight circuit training videos.4 -
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You can't measure body fat by a blood test. Cardio will not help you build muscle. Google the difference of results from cardio vs weight training. Believe it or not you may need to gain a little weight to build the muscle you need. I'm in the overweight category of BMI, and I have a flat stomach.2
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Traveler120 wrote: »French_Peasant wrote: »Traveler120 wrote: »I see you have edited your post. Drop some cardio, add much more weight training. I'm 5'4" and 140 lbs and have a pretty flat stomach for a 140 pounder. Lots of weight training. (And not a single sit up or crunch)vivelajackie wrote: »I can read. Totally editing what I suggested in my previous comment. I still stand by holy crap that's a lot of cardio though. It's not unusual to have a bit of a pooch though.
150 minutes per week is a lot of cardio?? LOL
FYI, the World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes/week of cardio as the minimum and 300 minutes/week as optimal.
http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/
"...For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or engage in 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week."
She originally said 150 hours and then corrected it.
Everybody knows that.
Sorry, when I had read your original comment, which I am very happy to see that you have edited, I just assumed that you were reacting to the overstatement, but now I see that you aimed it directly at these two posters. Duly noted.2 -
So I am a 23 year old 5'4" female and I weigh about 122 pounds. My ideal weight is supposed to be somewhere around 123. However, my stomach is not flat when I look in the mirror like a movie star or many other girls my age, the ones who everyone finds most attractive. I don't want to starve myself, but I don't want to look fat in my clothes. I've already spoken with my doctor about this and been tested to see if I am skinny fat, which I am not. I am not sure what the problem is or what else I can do to achieve a thinner frame, and get rid of the small pouch on my belly.
Maybe it's all in your head, post a pic.I also eat 7-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day (4 servings of fruit max, the rest veggie), though not everyday but most days.
Too much fiber can cause bloating in some people, does your belly jingle or is it rock hard?For cardio, I've started spending about 150 minutes a week on an elliptical or similar contraption. I've also recently started attempting to lift weight for 20 minutes 3 times a week, but I frequently get bored and would like to find another method of achieving the same type of training and benefits for my body that I would get from weight lifting.
What? You get bored from 60 minutes of lifting but not from 150 minutes of cardio? Try doing a circuit style training or use lots of supersets.
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Whoopes yeah 150 minute sorry about that, had a lot of stuff to write down and think about. The problem is I get bored with weight training and was wondering if there is anything else I could do that would provide the same benefits but be more engaging.
Also, my doctor did serveral blood test at my request and determined I would not be skinny fat based on the results.
How is weight training boring? When I'm performing a 225 lb squat I can't be bored. I don't know.
You have to create some kind of stimulus with resistance. What do you do?
It is boring for some people, just as cardio is boring for others.
There are other forms of resistance training that may help you - Pilates for example. But lifting weights is very efficient, you will likely get there sooner.2 -
So I am a 23 year old 5'4" female and I weigh about 122 pounds. My ideal weight is supposed to be somewhere around 123. However, my stomach is not flat when I look in the mirror like a movie star or many other girls my age, the ones who everyone finds most attractive. I don't want to starve myself, but I don't want to look fat in my clothes. I've already spoken with my doctor about this and been tested to see if I am skinny fat, which I am not. I am not sure what the problem is or what else I can do to achieve a thinner frame, and get rid of the small pouch on my belly.I also eat 7-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day (4 servings of fruit max, the rest veggie), though not everyday but most days.
Too much fiber can cause bloating in some people, does your belly jingle or is it rock hard?For cardio, I've started spending about 150 minutes a week on an elliptical or similar contraption. I've also recently started attempting to lift weight for 20 minutes 3 times a week, but I frequently get bored and would like to find another method of achieving the same type of training and benefits for my body that I would get from weight lifting.
I just want to know what this is, because it sounds awesome!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJSJHjiyCDU 4 -
I need to hear more about this skinny fat test.5
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Does your gym offer group fitness classes? I go to a circuit training and a conditioning class every week. It gets to me work on muscle groups that I normally wouldn't. I have found it to be a good option for strength training.2
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I agree lifting a few weights waiting for the pooch to flatten is deadly boring. I suggest training for a crossfit challenge instead. The belly will flatten on its own accord.
https://games.crossfit.com2 -
I don't find lifting boring. If you're lifting heavy for you, there is no time for boredom due to intense concentration on what you're doing. If you find that style of resistance training not your thing, circuit training/supersetting would be more your style. That's okay.
This makes no sense. As far as I am aware, there are no blood tests to determine bodyfat %. Only DEXA or Bodpod would be the way... or even callipers for an estimate.
Also, my doctor did serveral blood test at my request and determined I would not be skinny fat based on the results.
Do a recomp: eat at maintenance or 100 below and lift/resistance training. Cardio for health.
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OP, Make sure you are eating 30% of your cal in protein to build muscle! (and reduce the fruit) Most gym's have some sort of BodyPump class that combines weights with music and lots of movement. This would be good for someone who doesn't like the pace of weight lifting by itself, but needs the strength and body comp that weights provides. A few of the recommendations above of other types of intense workout are good to try, find something HARD that pushes you beyond your comfort zone and stick with it! Spin class, and Sprinting training (not just running) are also very hard and will create a trim and fit body. OR get a trainer and tell them what you want to achieve, they can make weight lifting much more bearable.0
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Have you tried working with a personal trainer? I now have 2 PT's. The trainer will evaluate your current fitness level, and create workouts to move you along. Also, you don't have to know anything about weight lifting or design your own workouts. Just show up, do the routine, and move on. You can tell the trainer what you want to work on, and they will design the workouts around your needs. It's the best money I ever spent on myself.
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ashleyk_xox wrote: »What is skinny fat?
Normal BMI but high body fat (so technically overweight still). Seems unlikely at 122 and 5'4, but also not something that can be measured with a blood test, so not sure what the OP is talking about there.1 -
bbell1985 please tell me why what I described is not weight lifting. I would generally like to know what I am doing wrong and how I can make the experience more enjoyable.
I wouldn't say it's not weight lifting, but if you are doing it to a timing or so many reps that it's tough to keep track, and focusing on things like skull crushers, that's not really about building strength (at least not as much as it could be) or doing the kinds of lifts that can really help with core stability and the rest.
Something where you are focusing on larger muscle and increasing strength -- like SL 5x5, but that's not the only option -- can be more intense and also often takes less time, at least at first.
bbell knows a lot about it and the thread she linked is good too.
Focusing on recomping might be useful too -- search for threads about that.0 -
Traveler120 wrote: »@Traveler120 - She'd originally written 150 hours/week.
And as you can see, they said they could see she had edited her post to correct it.
Unfortunately, you can't see time stamps on edits, but I recall that the "holy crap" post read that way before I asked for clarification about the "150 hours" in the original version of the OP. (And the "editing" reference in the comment you're criticizing appears to refer to editing that posters' own comment, not editing the OP.)0 -
For cardio, I've started spending about 150 minutes a week on an elliptical or similar contraption. I've also recently started attempting to lift weight for 20 minutes 3 times a week, but I frequently get bored and would like to find another method of achieving the same type of training and benefits for my body that I would get from weight lifting.
I think you should just grit your teeth and keep with lifting weights. Being bored for a total of an hour a week isn't the worst experience in the world and it is probably the most time efficient method of helping you achieve your goals.
Alternatively who can incorporate another form of training which you prefer which involves a suitable resistance component (and possibly knock some time off the cardio to help you incorporate this) such as body weight stuff, military fitness / bootcamp classes or so on but it will probably require more time commitment.
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I think you're eating too much. Fruit. Fruit is good in smaller quantities, cuz it's still sugar.0
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shortbam98 wrote: »I think you're eating too much. Fruit. Fruit is good in smaller quantities, cuz it's still sugar.
Nope, as long as it is within calories it is fine.
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It sounds like you may enjoy something like HIIT training, tabata, or some type of pilates. Or maybe take a spinning class. Those are some more fun ways to get in the exercise that vurn more fat. As for the little pooch or however you said it, theres nothing wrong with that. If you are a healthy height and weight, and your BMI is normal, there's nothing to worry about. I am sure you do NOT look fat. Women are meant to have more body fat so that we can support a child, too little can be dangerous. If you're concerned about your tummy sticking out or something, maybe try some ab workouts and set realistic goals so that you're constantly challenging yourself. Another idea is find a workout buddy so that you have some accountability and someone to talk to.0
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Weight training is boring because I stand in the same place and just look at myself in the mirror and either have to count how many reps I am doing or follow a timer. It's not like running where I can be outside, Orr even an elliptical where I can watch TV - I have to think too much about the intervals in lifting and focus on counting or making a timer, which takes all the fun out of exercise. I typically do various types of curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions, deadlifts, that sort of thing.
I wonder if your weights are too low and your reps are too high. I wasted time with this off and on for decades. Now, for each exercise, I go up in weights and down in reps, so for my heaviest set, I'm only doing 3-5 reps. Some people make their heaviest set 1 rep.
I may be working too hard to get bored, or I may be enjoying the heck out of my music.
Working with a trainer might alleviate some boredom for you. My mom's trainer gives her clients a new set of exercises each month. That sort of thing may help with boredom as well. There are lots of ways to do the same exercises. In yoga we say, "80 postures, 1,000 variations."3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Weight training is boring because I stand in the same place and just look at myself in the mirror and either have to count how many reps I am doing or follow a timer. It's not like running where I can be outside, Orr even an elliptical where I can watch TV - I have to think too much about the intervals in lifting and focus on counting or making a timer, which takes all the fun out of exercise. I typically do various types of curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions, deadlifts, that sort of thing.
I wonder if your weights are too low and your reps are too high. I wasted time with this off and on for decades. Now, for each exercise, I go up in weights and down in reps, so for my heaviest set, I'm only doing 3-5 reps. Some people make their heaviest set 1 rep.
I may be working too hard to get bored, or I may be enjoying the heck out of my music.
Working with a trainer might alleviate some boredom for you. My mom's trainer gives her clients a new set of exercises each month. That sort of thing may help with boredom as well. There are lots of ways to do the same exercises. In yoga we say, "80 postures, 1,000 variations."
This!!
IF you're willing to take the time to learn correct form.... 3-4 exercises X 3-4 sets X 3-8 Reps X 2-4 days a week is more than enough.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Weight training is boring because I stand in the same place and just look at myself in the mirror and either have to count how many reps I am doing or follow a timer. It's not like running where I can be outside, Orr even an elliptical where I can watch TV - I have to think too much about the intervals in lifting and focus on counting or making a timer, which takes all the fun out of exercise. I typically do various types of curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions, deadlifts, that sort of thing.
I wonder if your weights are too low and your reps are too high. I wasted time with this off and on for decades. Now, for each exercise, I go up in weights and down in reps, so for my heaviest set, I'm only doing 3-5 reps. Some people make their heaviest set 1 rep.
I may be working too hard to get bored, or I may be enjoying the heck out of my music.
Working with a trainer might alleviate some boredom for you. My mom's trainer gives her clients a new set of exercises each month. That sort of thing may help with boredom as well. There are lots of ways to do the same exercises. In yoga we say, "80 postures, 1,000 variations."
^^^I have to agree on a trainer helping to keep things interesting. I have a 6 week program that I have been working thorough over and over again for the past year+, and I still haven't gotten bored, because along with the core lifts, he threw in all kinds of variations and accessory work, and it just keeps it entertaining. For example, this weeks' workouts (which I now do over 2 weeks) include Pallof presses, woodchoppers, Yates row, y-presses, squeeze presses, single arm snatch, double kb snatch, cable pull-through, parallel bar dips, medicine ball slams, wall balls, assorted metabolic interrupts--all mixed in with the basics (bench press, squats, rows, pull ups, etc.)
I am also lifting heavy enough that I spend my time looking in the mirror with some amount of ferocity and determination, catching my breath, challenging the person looking back at me to have the fortitude to make it through 12 reps x 5 sets of DLs at a new weight, or make it to parallel on ALL my split squats, etc. I love competing against myself and having a cold, hard number (both on the weight and on the page) to improve against.1 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »French_Peasant wrote: »If you are getting bored just standing there counting reps, you might want to consider a crossfit or bootcamp style class--that way you can get your lifting in while shaking things up.
Also, since you like to run outside, you can create your own intensive, resistance-focused bootcamp by incorporating bodyweight exercises along your running route--every 5 or 10 minutes, stop and do 15 push-ups, 25 triceps dips on a park bench, wind sprints up and down some flights of stairs, 15 box jumps onto steps or benches, pull-ups on a jungle gym or tree branch, walking lunges across any bridge you cross, jumping jacks, and all kinds of fun plyometrics with lunges and squats. Run with a resistance band and you can have even more fun of all sorts. All guaranteed to kick your butt while you enjoy the beauties of nature.
This is an excellent idea!
There are also videos that incorporate cardio and resistance work like 30 day or Beginner Shred, The Firm or things like Body Pump classes. If you don't want to spend money, I believe there are things like Fitness Blender on youtube where you can find body weight circuit training videos.
As I was writing this, I was telling myself, yeah, you should get your butt outside and do this! It's my vacation regimen--I have my kids run a bootcamp for me on a playground; they delight in the torments they can devise for me.
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If you want to look fit you need to lift weights. Not BS like with the 2 lb dumbbells though. Squats, deadlifts, bench, and whatever accessory lifts work for you. I recommend pullups and rows of some kind.
If you push yourself with those exercises trust me, you won't just be bored counting reps in the mirror.2 -
itsthehumidity wrote: »If you want to look fit you need to lift weights. Not BS like with the 2 lb dumbbells though. Squats, deadlifts, bench, and whatever accessory lifts work for you. I recommend pullups and rows of some kind.
If you push yourself with those exercises trust me, you won't just be bored counting reps in the mirror.
There are many ways to do it and lifting heavy with compound lifts isn't the only way. A lot of people can achieve the aesthetic they want with other types of strength training. Might it take longer? Sure. But if they are more likely to stick with it and understand it might take longer then time is moot.
To come back to Fitness Blender, Keli only does their own workouts, you can track the change in her body composition from when they started years ago. Never gets in a squat rack. I don't think anyone would say her recomp has suffered any for her training choices. Just using her as an easy reference point.
Then there's those in prisons with no access to weights, a lot of them are ripped AF with good levels of muscle, not just lean. From bodyweight.
So do what's enjoyable in a structured way to achieve the results you want with an understanding of how long each style may take to get your results. As with weight loss, sustainability is the key here.3 -
VintageFeline wrote: »itsthehumidity wrote: »If you want to look fit you need to lift weights. Not BS like with the 2 lb dumbbells though. Squats, deadlifts, bench, and whatever accessory lifts work for you. I recommend pullups and rows of some kind.
If you push yourself with those exercises trust me, you won't just be bored counting reps in the mirror.
Then there's those in prisons with no access to weights, a lot of them are ripped AF with good levels of muscle, not just lean. From bodyweight.
1. most prisons have weights
2. Squats, and deadlifts have BW variations or Pushups and pullups only require appropriate real estate..
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