Building Muscle but Still Flabby - What to do??

I still have flab too - i notice muscles appearing but still have bingo wings!!

Flabbiness comes from higher body fat. Even thin people have it, I was 105 pounds and had it. As long as you keep your diet in check you will lose body fat and you will maintain muscle by lifting heavy. When you get to a point you are happy with your weight you can do a bulk to build muscle. At this point it sounds like you want to lose some weight while maintaining muscle, and this is the way to do it. ) Hope this helps a little. You don't need to do excess cardio to lose body fat, you can do it through diet.

P.S. Jillian Michaels is kind of a waste of time if your goals are to build muscle.

I second this! Especially about Jillian

you absolutely MUST do weights. too much cardio will help you lose a lot of weight but a lot of that will be muscle and you don't want to be "skinny fat". Do circuits. You can google routines online or even look on youtube. Do what they tell you to do and over time you'll see what works for you or what you like. Then you can come up with your own routines. Start doing push ups. max out on them. Sometimes for a warm up I'll do 50 burpees, 50 push ups, and 50 squats non stop and time myself. It's a great way to track your progress and get the blood flowing. Yeah, it's tough but you'll only see changes when you challenge yourself. In my experience there are two things that have been really effective for me. One is lower body routines. your legs are the largest muscle group in your body and when you target those, you burn a lot of fat and calories. if you like videos, try the p90x plyometrics. it's awesome. Second has been combing muscle groups together, for example squats with shoulder presses or tricep extenstions. Lunges with a medicine ball going side to side. Jillian michaels will not help you reach all your goals but it is a good way to change things up. Do it maybe once a week but not everyday. Your body likes change so change up your routine. when it comes to free weights, go heavy one week and go light with maximum reps the next. Trust me, a light weight goes a long way when you do the move for 90 seconds. It's a lot harder than you think. Don't be scared of heavy weights. We don't produce enough testosterone to get bulky and the only way to do that is to load up on supplements. speaking of which, you might want to invest in a protein powder or have a muscle milk light on days when you lift heavy or workout for more than an hour. your body will love it. your diet, however, is 60% of your success so no matter how much you workout, if you're not eating properly, you're wasting your time. getting rid of the flab takes a while. I have gained a good amount of muscle and it is finally visible but I still have the flab as well. It's a long process. if there's an area you are realy unsatisfied with, ( mine is the tricep area) visualize that muscle becoming tighter as you work it out. Work that muscle more often. maybe 3 times a week resting a day in between. also, what i do when I'm bored at home or just randomly out of the blue, but always at home, I'll knock a couple push ups out. trust me, every little bit helps.

The concept is simple, execution can be difficult.

1) eat right
This means a modest calorie deficit (This is where your weight loss will come from, which will be a combination of fat and muscle) and a good balance of fats, carbs and protein, including at least .3g of fat per lb of weight and at least 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass.

2) lift heavy
You have to lift, and you have to lift heavy. 3-5 sets, 5-8 reps using enough weight so the last rep of each set is a real struggle. Pay attention to your form. This, plus sufficient protein will help keep muscle loss to a minimum and maximize fat loss.

3) be patient, be consistent
Everything about this takes longer than you want. We're not talking days or weeks here, think months.

bump

I love all of the responses...very informative. Thanks for posting this thread!!!

Increase your cardio maybe. I think the health association says we should be doing 100 to 150 minutes of cardiovascular activities such as speed walking or cycling every week, plus three 20-minute sessions that combine strengthening and conditioning. You can make any cardiovascular routine a toning workout by pumping light hand weights while exercising.

Tabata style exercises (HIIT) are great too...you get toning combined with cardio.... Gives your body a boost so you burn more calories throughout the day to get rid of the fat while toning your muscles. These workouts use your own body weight too (calisthenics) by doing push-ups, burpees, squats, jumping lunges, thrusters, etc.