stong but not flat...

[shah269]

Guys I'm having an issue which i can't for the life of me figure out and maybe you can help. My abbs are strong, I can do leg lifts and planks till the cows come home...my only issue is that i can't seem to flatten out my gut!
It's more ) than |
what can i do at the gym to help tighten the muscles so that make my abbs look as strong as they feel.
Thank you

[euro*]

love beer much?

A flat stomach/fat free is ALL about your diet. No matter how strong your abs are, you need to get rid of the blanket, in order to see them.

[Bighorns]

In men we can store layers of fat between the muscles too. My wife always commented on how hard my large stomach was!

[Templar]

Stop eating garbage and your stomach will flatten out.

[chris s]

It's definitely a diet thing.

[shah269]

I don't eat out much. I drink maybe half a can of soda a day and I cook lean.
It's "hard" but not flabby....if i flex it flattens but when i relax....it just falls...
should i just come to terms with the fact that I'm 36 and this is how life is or what?
A friend suggested doing sit ups with weights...

[Skooterbrah]

Nutrition is 90% of the equation when it comes to dropping body fat. No other way around it my friend =D

[chris s]

Originally Posted by shah269

I don't eat out much. I drink maybe half a can of soda a day and I cook lean.
It's "hard" but not flabby....if i flex it flattens but when i relax....it just falls...
should i just come to terms with the fact that I'm 36 and this is how life is or what?
A friend suggested doing sit ups with weights...

You should cut out the soda...and evaluate your whole diet and make adjustments where necessary. You must cheat a bit? Do you drink alcohol?

Its not your age... weighted situps might actually have the opposite effect...you'll build the abs more and it could give the appearance of your mid-section being even more pushed out.

You can't spot reduce fat...that's a fact. It's 80% diet and 20% cardio/exercise.

[shah269]

I'll have a bear at dinner....
Most dinners are lean grilled meats with veggies.
cheat yeah a bit of sugar here a bit there.....but not much.
my issue seems to be pulling the muscle in right now it's bowed out.
what work outs help tighten your gut because right now just weight lifting is just pushing it out.

[speddmn]

what's your body weight and daily caloric intake? BMI?

[shah269]

I'm 5'7" and weigh 190lbs
So BMI says i'm chunky....like chunky chunky...but my gut is a 34in gut.
And bench a good 200lbs no problem for a solid 5 reps for 4 sets.....and leg press 300lbs same thing.
and on the tread mill I'm 3mph at 15% incline for a solid 40min twice a week and my heart rate is a solid 150bpm at around the 25min mark.
My caloric intake...no clue I don't measure...i just try to keep it healthy.
fuirts veggies and the like....

I'm going to sound silly....I've had a bit of gas....like some really good farts.....could the reason why my gut is out rather than in is due to gas?

[RandomHero]

Originally Posted by shah269

My caloric intake...no clue I don't measure...

That's your problem right there. It doesn't matter how healthy you eat or how many crunches you do, fat is ultimately burned when you have a caloric deficit. There is no such thing as spot treatment. That means that if you carry fat around your midsection, crunches won't aleviate the problem. If you carry fat in your arms, curls will not burn fat in that area.

You need to track your calories and figure out how many you are consuming each day. You can do it the old fashioned way and measure your portions and look at the nutrition facts on your food, or you can use calculators such as "Fit Day" that will estimate how many calories are in the food you consume.

My advice for you at your size is to set an initial goal of consuming around 2000 calories. If you maintain an active lifestyle, you can up that to around 2500 calories, but somewhere in the 1800-2200 range is very safe and will cause 99.9% of people your size to lose weight (the good kind too).

If you want abs this is the pretty basic recipe:

1.) Maintain a caloric deficit (500 calorie/day deficit is easy to do. 1000 is harder, but you will see progress faster)
2.) Increase your level of activity (I recommend lifting heavy over cardio)
3.) Keep your protein intake high and your carb intake low

[shah269]

cool thank you...just got an app for that will do...maybe that will pull the muscle in...because it's just strange...how can it loook like that and be solid as a rock? WTF?

[Templar]

Doesn't matter how strong you are or how well you can run. You can lift and run all day long, but unless you start eating right you're gut will linger.

With some people it comes a little more naturally, and some it doesn't. And as you age, it's a little tough no matter what your metabolism used to be like.

The bottom line is that if you want a flatter stomach, you need to cut out junk food and the empty calories (i.e. soda and beer). Definition in the midsection almost always has to do with diet, and not so much exercise.

[RandomHero]

Originally Posted by shah269

cool thank you...just got an app for that will do...maybe that will pull the muscle in...because it's just strange...how can it loook like that and be solid as a rock? WTF?

It's extremely hard to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. I'm not saying it can't be done, but even bodybuilders go through either a "bulking" or "cutting" phase.

Your primary concern at this point should be "cutting"

I was in a similar situation as you about 3 years ago. I was around 5'10" 245 pounds at my heaviest point. I went from 245 down to 190 pounds in right around 15 weeks. That agressive of weight loss is generally considered unhealthy, but I kept a near perfect diet and a near perfect exercise schedule.

A few more in depth points I'd like to make:
1.) Cut out the easy stuff first- If you drink sugar sodas switch to diet. Swap out mayo for mustard. Ranch dressing for balsamic vinaigrette.
2.) Keep your protein levels high. Learn to live off of chicken breast, tuna, and lean turkey. Generally if it flies or swims it's almost pure protein.
3.) Keep your complex carb (things like pasta, breads, and potatoes) intake low. The only time I would eat complex carbs was when I felt a serious lack of energy.
4.) Lift heavy. As I mentioned, cardio is good for overall health and burns calories, but your body will lower its metabolism very quickly after doing cardio. When you lift heavy, your metabolism increases during the workout, but afterward it will remain high as well. Your body will need to repair your muscles which is why heavy lifting is so advantageous.
5.) The scale is a tool and that's it. Don't judge your progress based on how much you weigh. At the beginning of your diet you'll probably lose 5-10 pounds very quickly. Most of that is excess food and carbs. You will also retain less water as well. After about a month in to your diet you'll find your progress slowing rapidly....DON'T GET DISCOURAGED. The difference between 22% body fat and 20% body fat isn't very easy to see. However the difference between 12% and 10% is extremely noticeable.
6.) Judge yourself based on how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror. You may even consider taking "progress pictures." It may seem silly at the time, but it's much easier to compare two pictures side by side than it is to look at yourself every day in the mirror.
7.) Build yourself a plan and stick to it. That means setting goals for yourself, choosing your meals the day before you eat them, and setting a workout schedule. Setting goals will allow you to quantify your work. You can either say "I did this" or "I didn't do this."
8.) Keep a log book. Track what you eat, what you did working out, and anything else you may feel like.

As I referenced above, I was averaging almost 3.5 pounds a week. In most cases that would be considered very unhealthy, but my plan (a simple version) looked something like this:

Calories: 1800/day target and a max of 2000 calories
Protein Intake: At least 150grams/day
Cardio: I ran 15-20 miles a week, did 3-4 hours/week on the elliptical and was a college baseball player
Weight Lifting: 5 days of heavy weights (Arms, Legs, Core, Back, Shoulders)

A good starting point for you should be something like:
Calories: 2000/day or less
Protein Intake: 120g or more
Cardio: 1 hour 3-4 times a week
Weight lifting- 3-4 times a week. Something like: Arms/Core, Legs/Shoulders, Back/Core

[amanda hor$t]

i drink often, but am pretty good with what i eat (serious portion control). i don't like working out that much anymore either.

so i am cool being stocky and carrying some flab... as long as i'm not a slob. though if i did just decide to let go one day, i wouldn't mind looking like adam richman. he's big, famous, got plenty of groupies... fockkit

[speddmn]

Originally Posted by R Grubba Balls

i drink often, but am pretty good with what i eat (serious portion control). i don't like working out that much anymore either.

so i am cool being stocky and carrying some flab... as long as i'm not a slob. though if i did just decide to let go one day, i wouldn't mind looking like adam richman. he's big, famous, got plenty of groupies... fockkit

Most inspiring post ever

Seriously, listen to the guys, watch those calories and cut out the carbs and sugar...

One diet trick you might try is generally what I go by - it's not fool proof and I'm by no means shredded but I'm down a bit over 30% from where I was a few years back - if you cant kill it, catch it or 'gather' it you shouldn't eat it... it's the lazy man's paleo diet

[shah269]

went to the dock this morning for some blook work....I think it may be something......

[ChrisDUS]

It wasn't said before but definitely is important as well next to having a good diet for bodyfat reduction:

Posture of your hip. If your hip is tilted forward a lot when you stand then your belly will get into the ")" shape. If it's tilted less, then you rather will look like "|".
Maybe worth checking for muscular imbalances there and some stretching.

I recommend the youtube channel by "Elliot Hulse", just do a search.

[RandomHero]

Originally Posted by ChrisDUS

It wasn't said before but definitely is important as well next to having a good diet for bodyfat reduction:

Posture of your hip. If your hip is tilted forward a lot when you stand then your belly will get into the ")" shape. If it's tilted less, then you rather will look like "|".
Maybe worth checking for muscular imbalances there and some stretching.

I recommend the youtube channel by "Elliot Hulse", just do a search.

At the risk of sounding rude (and I don’t mean to), I think that’s more of “fashion” advice than it is fitness and health. The way you stand and your posture only change how you are perceived. A fat is still a fat guy no matter how good his posture is.

I know you had good intentions with your advice. I've also learned a lot of “tricks” to making myself look thinner than I truly am. Even when I was around 10% body fat, I would look "soft" with the wrong clothes on.

[shah269]

OK....so this dumb ass has some problems!
Yeah the posture thing is one i need to walk with my cock out more...less walking like ) and more walking like |
and that is 100000% due to not working out my lower back!

But well, just got off the phone with my doctor.
1) He is happy that my cholesterol is in a good spot.
2) He is super pissed at me! For not drinking enough fluids and not having enough salt in my diet! Apparently I was borderline dehydrated! Half joked he wanted to call me back to shove a needle in my arm to rehydrate me! So one bottle of Gatorade gone for lunch!
3) I have some sort of mild infection….which apparently has been going on for a while….
So..he thinks I’m in shape…I’m not “fat” I’m on the right track…I just need to drink way more fluids, have a hand full of salt every day and take a months round of mild antibiotics to burn off this infection

[dr.mba]

One aspect no one talked about is timing of different kinds of foods. It is best to eat heavy in the morning and light at night. Avoid carbs and sugars past 6pm and stick to protein and fat. Theres alot of science around this and I am not going to go on the details of this subject but suffice it to say that your hormonal environment is more receptive to carbs in the AM than the PM and you almost automatically deposit fat if you were to eat carbs at night. If you are serious about losing the mid section fat then drop carbs to the bare minimum in your diet and feast on fiber and protein and healthy fats (nuts and poly unsaturated oils such as olive oil). It is still most important to maintain caloric deficit without compromising protein intake so that you have a net positive nitrogen balance. Good luck.

MBA