Strength training

rickiimarieee
rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
So I’m strength training to try and tone my body (thighs, abs, and arms). I’m losing weight I’m 5’3 and 126 pounds. Ever since I started strength training my stomach protrudes more (I look fat). I do v ups and sit ups and crunches with weights (normally 25 pounds). I’m having no luck with toning my abs, I have very little fat on my stomach I just feel my abs but it’s protruding what can I do to change it or help tone my abs?

Replies

  • rwilliamberry
    rwilliamberry Posts: 5 Member
    Ab's are not gained by just excercise it requires a strict diet and a lot of cardio to accomplish. You need to be down to low body fat %.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    A picture would help.
    Could be posture, could be fat, could be unusual level of musculature could be you see something that others don't see.....
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    How long have you been strength training and how much have you lost? Have you changed your diet (adding protein, more fibre, etc?).. depending on how it looks it could be some bloating from certain foods involved. Or posture as mentioned is another possibility.

    If you have little fat on your stomach but still aren't seeing definition, then the issue most likely is lack of muscle base. Switching to maintaining and recomping to help build muscle and change your body composition could help.. but maybe if you post a picture we could get a better idea of what you are seeing.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    make sure your using proper form...suck your belly button in. When i used improper form my ab muscles were worked wrong and poppd out vs in. And thats when i was aware of form i just didnt realize how important. Otherwise i agree with rest pics or we cant really tell because you and me weigh the same you cant have that much fat on you
  • TheWeighsOfLife
    TheWeighsOfLife Posts: 8 Member
    You may want to take a look on youtube. There are a lot of other core-strengthening exercises to do besides the ones you've mentioned! I have a lot of fun using my stability ball to try to tone my core... the exercises to choose from are endless. Best of luck in your journey!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    You don't "tone abs". That doesn't mean anything. The idea of toning is to lose fat to reveal muscle. If you're already lean and don't have abs, you have to build them...and you can't do that by doing crunches in a deficit. You need a surplus or maintenance calories and a program with a progressive overload.

    If you feel like your stomach looks bigger, you may have lost inches at your natural waist or hips, but not your "stomach", which can give the illusion of it being bigger. Have you measured?
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    How long have you been strength training and how much have you lost? Have you changed your diet (adding protein, more fibre, etc?).. depending on how it looks it could be some bloating from certain foods involved. Or posture as mentioned is another possibility.

    If you have little fat on your stomach but still aren't seeing definition, then the issue most likely is lack of muscle base. Switching to maintaining and recomping to help build muscle and change your body composition could help.. but maybe if you post a picture we could get a better idea of what you are seeing.

    My maintenance is 1,610 calories and I’m still losing weight. My goal is set to very active and maintenance. I lost 33 pounds. I’ve been strength training for going on 3 months.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    How long have you been strength training and how much have you lost? Have you changed your diet (adding protein, more fibre, etc?).. depending on how it looks it could be some bloating from certain foods involved. Or posture as mentioned is another possibility.

    If you have little fat on your stomach but still aren't seeing definition, then the issue most likely is lack of muscle base. Switching to maintaining and recomping to help build muscle and change your body composition could help.. but maybe if you post a picture we could get a better idea of what you are seeing.

    I’m trying to post a picture but it won’t let me
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    You don't "tone abs". That doesn't mean anything. The idea of toning is to lose fat to reveal muscle. If you're already lean and don't have abs, you have to build them...and you can't do that by doing crunches in a deficit. You need a surplus or maintenance calories and a program with a progressive overload.

    If you feel like your stomach looks bigger, you may have lost inches at your natural waist or hips, but not your "stomach", which can give the illusion of it being bigger. Have you measured?

    I use to measure but I stopped. I’m eating at what MyFitnessPal is telling me is my maintenance. I put very active and maintain weight and it’s 1,610 but I’m still losing a couple ounces a day.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    make sure your using proper form...suck your belly button in. When i used improper form my ab muscles were worked wrong and poppd out vs in. And thats when i was aware of form i just didnt realize how important. Otherwise i agree with rest pics or we cant really tell because you and me weigh the same you cant have that much fat on you

    Maybe I’m doing improper form. I tried uploading pictures it won’t let me, it just keeps saying post failed.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    A picture would help.
    Could be posture, could be fat, could be unusual level of musculature could be you see something that others don't see.....

    I tried it won’t let me post a picture it keeps saying failed.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.

    You haven't mentioned how fast you are losing weight...
    You can manually adjust your goal calories and just bump up 100 at a time if you are just losing slowly.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    If you're doing weight crunches as well as strength training for the first time, you could be just experiencing noobie muscle growth and/or some water retention, that'll level off over time don't let it discourage you. It'll get better as you lose fat. As others mentioned, watch your posture and suck your abs when lifting.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    mutantspicy wrote: »
    If you're doing weight crunches as well as strength training for the first time, you could be just experiencing noobie muscle growth and/or some water retention, that'll level off over time don't let it discourage you. It'll get better as you lose fat. As others mentioned, watch your posture and suck your abs when lifting.

    This is my first time strength training! Thanks!
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.

    You haven't mentioned how fast you are losing weight...
    You can manually adjust your goal calories and just bump up 100 at a time if you are just losing slowly.

    Its just very gradual maybe 1 pounds or less in a week.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.

    You haven't mentioned how fast you are losing weight...
    You can manually adjust your goal calories and just bump up 100 at a time if you are just losing slowly.

    Its just very gradual maybe 1 pounds or less in a week.

    1lb a week would mean you have an approximate deficit of 500 cals.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.

    You haven't mentioned how fast you are losing weight...
    You can manually adjust your goal calories and just bump up 100 at a time if you are just losing slowly.

    Its just very gradual maybe 1 pounds or less in a week.

    1lb a week would mean you have an approximate deficit of 500 cals.

    Sometimes I lose then it goes back up to my previous weight and then back down and then back up. Should I gradually add calories or just add 500 first off?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    if your "maintenance" is 1610 and you are losing weight, then you aren't at maintenance

    I know I don't know what to put my intake at.

    You haven't mentioned how fast you are losing weight...
    You can manually adjust your goal calories and just bump up 100 at a time if you are just losing slowly.

    Its just very gradual maybe 1 pounds or less in a week.

    1lb a week would mean you have an approximate deficit of 500 cals.

    Sometimes I lose then it goes back up to my previous weight and then back down and then back up. Should I gradually add calories or just add 500 first off?

    Only you really know what your weight is doing over an extended period of time.

    If you are fluctuating around the same weight then you are maintaining but seeing totally normal day to day, week to week fluctuations. That's to be expected but the range of those fluctuations is personal and variable.
    If on the other hand you are trending downwards (month on month for example) then you are still in a deficit.

    Maybe one of the weight trending apps like Libra would help you?
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    rickiimarieee wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    How long have you been strength training and how much have you lost? Have you changed your diet (adding protein, more fibre, etc?).. depending on how it looks it could be some bloating from certain foods involved. Or posture as mentioned is another possibility.

    If you have little fat on your stomach but still aren't seeing definition, then the issue most likely is lack of muscle base. Switching to maintaining and recomping to help build muscle and change your body composition could help.. but maybe if you post a picture we could get a better idea of what you are seeing.

    My maintenance is 1,610 calories and I’m still losing weight. My goal is set to very active and maintenance. I lost 33 pounds. I’ve been strength training for going on 3 months.

    33 pounds?

    Mad, Mad Re5pext.
  • cleesus
    cleesus Posts: 87 Member
    You definitely want to keep in mind that if this is your first time trying to get abs in your life then it could take awhile. You may look funny (to yourself) because you have lost weight in other areas.

    Since you cant seem to post a pictue(you could try hosting it on imgur and adding it here) your body fat percentage would be helpful so we can get a feel of where you are at and if your abs should really be showing.

    Also one of the most important things to building abs is using the proper form. A LOT of people do many ab exercises wrong and end up with marginal results because of it. Also switch up your ab workouts every few weeks if you find what you are doing is too easy.

    There are a few good channels on youtube who can help you learn proper form for exercises
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