Last bit of fat covering abs

Rachel6xxx · March 2018

Hi All,

I'm hoping someone can help me with a few questions.

My info;

Age - 27
Gender - Female
Weight - 119lbs
*edit* Height - 5ft 5
Daily calories - 1600
Macros - Carbs 50% Fat 25% Protein 25%
Training - Monday Chest, Tuesday Arms, Wednesday Back, Thursday Shoulders, Friday Cardio, Saturday rest day, Sunday Cardio if I can find the time.

I eat clean 95% of the time, good carbs, healthy fats and protein mainly from chicken, steak, fish & protein shakes.

Overall I am happy with my body, the only thing I am unhappy with is the little bit of fat left covering my upper abs.

If I continue with what I am currently doing will the fat reduce over time?
Do I need to reach a certain body fat before they will show? I am not really sure what my current body fat is. I have used quite a few methods to find out from the body fat machine to measuring and calculating but they all come up with different answers, ranging from 18% to 23%, but most come out around 19-20%.

Do you think I should incorporate more cardio into my workouts? or maybe lower my calorie intake?

Thank you

sardelsa · March 2018

Stubborn fat is usually called stubborn for a reason. It is usually the last to go for many. Incorporating progressive weight training (not just random programming) and a small deficit, adequate protein and lots of patience will help you get there. You can eat clean all you want but if you aren't eating the right amount of calories you will not see results.

That being said..

How tall are you? You left that out of your stats. If you are at or close to the lower end of weight for your height and still not happy you may not have enough muscle to support defined abs. Looking into recomposition and eating at maintenance would be the best option in that case.

HilTri · March 2018

I have just increased my protein to 40% and lifting heavier. I found that eating too few calories didn't give me the strength to give it my all while lifting. I also started using different workouts to switch it up some. I am 16% body fat (I was measured at a sports physiologist appt where I stood on foot prints on a scale of sorts and held on to hand grips, sorry I don't know what it called). I have heard that there are a lot of body fat measurement tools on the market are inaccurate. I am 48, 5'6" and weigh 137. I eat 1800 calories and don't eat back exercise calories. I am diligent about hitting my macros. I am no means a professional on the subject, these are just my thoughts. Don't be afraid to eat.

Rachel6xxx · March 2018

Thank you both for your replies, this has given me things to think about. I have edited the post to include my height. I am worried about increasing my calories. After loosing weight i'm afraid of putting it back on.

psuLemon · March 2018

Rachel6xxx wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm hoping someone can help me with a few questions.

My info;

Age - 27
Gender - Female
Weight - 119lbs
*edit* Height - 5ft 5
Daily calories - 1600
Macros - Carbs 50% Fat 25% Protein 25%
Training - Monday Chest, Tuesday Arms, Wednesday Back, Thursday Shoulders, Friday Cardio, Saturday rest day, Sunday Cardio if I can find the time.

I eat clean 95% of the time, good carbs, healthy fats and protein mainly from chicken, steak, fish & protein shakes.

Overall I am happy with my body, the only thing I am unhappy with is the little bit of fat left covering my upper abs.

If I continue with what I am currently doing will the fat reduce over time?
Do I need to reach a certain body fat before they will show? I am not really sure what my current body fat is. I have used quite a few methods to find out from the body fat machine to measuring and calculating but they all come up with different answers, ranging from 18% to 23%, but most come out around 19-20%.

Do you think I should incorporate more cardio into my workouts? or maybe lower my calorie intake?

Thank you

Since you are at the low end of an acceptable weight, I suspect your biggest problem is you don't have adequate lean body mass to give you a flat stomach (pretty common in those underweight or close to it). It's more than probable, that you will need to bulk (or potentially recomp) to add some mass, with working abs directly to build your core muscles.

Second, get rid of the program you are following. Unless you are on steroids, it's a typical bro-split which is much less effective at building muscle. Instead, I'd start with the link below and find a structured program that focuses on your goals (i.e., build a butt).

For diet, It doesn't seem too bad, but I'd probably increase protein to 30% and decrease carbs by 5%. That will allow you to hit 1g per lb which is more than enough.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

beatyfamily1 · March 2018

You will have to lose more fat to be able to see abs. There are a few things you could try.

1. Gradually lower carbs and increase protein.
2. HIIT cardio instead of steady state cardio and ideally more than once or twice a week. All you really need is maybe 6-10 minutes of HIIT per session.
3. Cardio acceleration which is you do some type of cardio in between sets of weight lifting to keep your heart rate up.
4. Full body workouts. Pick 1 exercise per muscle group and do them 5-6 days a week instead of one muscle group a day.
5. On the first set of weight lifting of each muscle group, do explosive lifting and normal pace after the first set.
6. Intermittent fasting.

psuLemon · March 2018

beatyfamily1 wrote: »

You will have to lose more fat to be able to see abs. There are a few things you could try.

1. Gradually lower carbs and increase protein.
2. HIIT cardio instead of steady state cardio and ideally more than once or twice a week. All you really need is maybe 6-10 minutes of HIIT per session.
3. Cardio acceleration which is you do some type of cardio in between sets of weight lifting to keep your heart rate up.
4. Full body workouts. Pick 1 exercise per muscle group and do them 5-6 days a week instead of one muscle group a day.
5. On the first set of weight lifting of each muscle group, do explosive lifting and normal pace after the first set.
6. Intermittent fasting.

HIIT + weight training can lead to recovery issues, if we are talking traditional HIIT and not Tabata/Calisthenics. Intermittent Fasting does nothing to burn fat.

L1zardQueen · March 2018

I like this thread

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

sardelsa · March 2018

beatyfamily1 wrote: »

You will have to lose more fat to be able to see abs. There are a few things you could try.

1. Gradually lower carbs and increase protein.
2. HIIT cardio instead of steady state cardio and ideally more than once or twice a week. All you really need is maybe 6-10 minutes of HIIT per session.
3. Cardio acceleration which is you do some type of cardio in between sets of weight lifting to keep your heart rate up.
4. Full body workouts. Pick 1 exercise per muscle group and do them 5-6 days a week instead of one muscle group a day.
5. On the first set of weight lifting of each muscle group, do explosive lifting and normal pace after the first set.
6. Intermittent fasting.

While some of the things you mentioned can help some people get and stay in a deficit, it is not a guarantee.. and losing fat is also not a guarantee for abs either (if you lack adequate muscle, your abs will barely show even when underweight, speaking from experience here). Not to mention some of the things can actually cause more muscle loss in some people if it causes poor lifting performance (for example I find HIIT to affect my lifting as well as cardio between sets).

jasondjulian · March 2018

This part matters.

Rachel6xxx wrote: »

Daily calories - 1600

This part does not.

Rachel6xxx wrote: »

I eat clean 95% of the time, good carbs, healthy fats and protein mainly from chicken, steak, fish & protein shakes.

This part matters the MOST.

Rachel6xxx wrote: »

Overall I am happy with my body

Last bit of fat covering abs

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