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If you started with less fat, you're probably still losing a lot of it but replacing more with muscle. P90X's work-outs are awesome; they work your entire body and burn tons of calories while building strength and endurance. I’m doing P90X and love itbut it is VERY hard.if you haven’t worked out in a long time or overweighttheres some of the dvds you wont be able to doBUUUUUTTTT beachbody (who makes the dvd) has the per P90x series out called “Power 90″since P90x was for the graduates of power 90.I would suggest you start there first.
The Skinny-Fat Physique is a term I use to describe a body that looks skinny with a shirt on and fat with the shirt off. Although skinny-fat people have a low-to-moderate body fat percentage, they still look soft and out of shape because they have very little muscle mass. They tend to accumulate fat easily around the waist but very little on their legs and arms.
Also, they usually have a hip dominant bone structure: relatively narrow shoulders and rib cage and wider waist and hips.
Many people starting from this point are discouraged because they think their genetics work against them and they can never have the proportions to look great. That’s not true. Look at Ryan Gosling as an example. He clearly has wide waist and hips due to his bone structure, and a tendency to store fat on his belly. But that didn’t stop him from building a great physique, and being considered one of the most attractive men alive.
Another great example is Omar Isuf. He is now one of the most popular and respected fitness YouTubers but he started from a skinny-fat physique.
So while you may have what would be considered “bad genetics” you definitely can build a very attractive and strong physique. Once you develop your shoulders, arms, back and chest and get your waist smaller, you will look like a Hollywood actor. Let’s be precise and talk numbers.
What you have to do is reach certain standards of relative strength in a few key exercises. Muscle size corresponds well with relative strength in a medium rep range. So to reach a certain muscle size what you must do is reach the strength level that corresponds to that size.
This way your goal is very clear and measurable. To look like Ryan Gosling in that movie all you have to do is reach those relative strength standards.
How do you do that? You lift weights and pay attention to your nutrition. Let’s address them one by one.
How to Train to Build Muscle
To build muscle and strength you must train with an effective program. I assume you are now a complete beginner. In that case, the routine I recommend you follow in the first 3 months is this. Pause the video to study it.
Workout A – Upper Body
- Bench Press – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Weighted Chins – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Seated DB Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Cable Rows – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Incline Machine Chest Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
Workout B – Lower Body
- Barbell Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets of 6 reps
- Leg Press – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Seated Calf Raises – 4 sets of 12 reps
And here are the notes for it so you know how to progress:
- Training is done 3 days per week on non-consecutive days. Example: Monday – Workout A, Wednesday – Workout B, Friday – Workout A, Monday – Workout B, etc.
- Rest 2 minutes between sets for the compound movements and one minute for the isolation movements.
- When you hit the required reps for all sets, increase the weight with 5lbs (2.5kg) on all sets the following workout. This will probably cause you to lose 1 or 2 reps in the last 2 sets. That’s normal and the goal for the following workout is to add back the reps in those last sets so you can increase the weight again.
- Use a lifting app to track your progress.
- The reason we’re doing mostly low rep training is because we need to use weights that are heavy enough to cause growth. In the beginning you’re far too weak to get a good training stimulus from high rep training as you’d be using very light weights. By doing sets of 5-8 reps you’re getting full muscle fiber recruitment, enough muscle damage, and enough volume per set to cause growth.
Gaining muscle and strength has a simple rule: To make the fastest progress possible, you need to match the amount of training you do with your recovery capacity. In the beginning, your muscles grow very fast in response to lifting weights but their recovery capacity is very low. Because of this, in the first few months it’s best to train each muscle group frequently but doing only a handful of sets each time.
With this routine you train each muscle group twice a week. By doing that you take advantage of the fact that your muscles adapt rapidly and you’ll be stronger every time you hit the gym. However, each session you only do a small amount of sets to match your work capacity.
Things change after a few months because you will adapt and be able to handle more training. So to keep making rapid progress we increase training volume a bit.
You upgrade to this intermediate routine:
Monday – Upper Body, Back Emphasis
- Weighted Chins – 4 sets of 4-6 reps
- Standing Shoulder Press – 4 sets of 4-6 reps
- Barbell Rows – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
- Machine Incline Bench Press – 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Lateral Raises – 3 sets of 12 reps
Wednesday – Lower Body
- Barbell Back Squats -4 sets of 4-6 reps
- Romanian Deadlifts – 4 sets of 4-6 reps
- Leg Press – 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Leg Extensions – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Seated Calf Raises – 3 sets of 12 reps
Friday – Upper Body, Chest Emphasis
- Incline Bench Press – 4 sets of 4-6 reps
- Cable Rows – 4 sets of 8-12 reps
- Flat Bench Press – 4 sets of 6-8 reps
- Barbell Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Face Pulls – 3 sets of 15 reps
And here are the notes for it:
- Rest 2 minutes between sets for the compound movements and one minute for the isolation movements.
- When you hit the required reps for all sets, increase the weight with 5lbs (2.5kg) on all sets the following workout. This will probably cause you to lose 1 or 2 reps in the last 2 sets. That’s normal and the goal for the following workout is to add back the reps in those last sets so you can increase the weight again.
- Use a lifting app to track your progress.
- The reason we’re doing mostly low rep training is because we need to use weights that are heavy enough to cause growth. In the beginning you’re far too weak to get a good training stimulus from high rep training as you’d be using very light weights. By doing sets of 5-8 reps you’re getting full muscle fiber recruitment, enough muscle damage, and enough volume per set to cause growth.
This routine is designed to bring up the muscle groups that contribute the most to great proportions: your shoulders, upper chest, back, and arms. Your legs get a bit less volume than they could handle but that’s because we don’t want them to grow faster than your upper body.
With these routines you can expect to gain 0.5 to 1.5 pounds of muscle per month for the first two years. To get a physique like Gosling I’d say you need about two years of lifting.
Now, what about nutrition? That’s what we’ll talk about next. Game naruto strom 4.
How to Eat to Lose Fat or Build Muscle
Here, we have a dilemma.
People starting from the skinny fat physique are equally unhappy with how skinny they are and how fat they are. So they can’t decide which one to pursue first. If they lose fat first they end up being way too skinny, looking unhealthy. If they bulk first they may end up with more belly fat which they hate.
I think the best choice depends on your individual situation.
If you are mostly skinny but have some fat on your belly, I think you should definitely start gaining weight. Don’t worry about getting a 6 pack right now. Your overall muscle mass is not developed enough to show even through a small layer of body fat.
Click on this macro calculator. Input your current bodyweight and select “lean bulk”. At the bottom of the page you’ll see the calories and macros you need to eat every day.
If you’re fatter than skinny, it would be best to lose some fat first and only then focus on building muscle and gaining size. The reason for that is because if you bulked now, you would get very fat in a few months. By doing a short cut first you can then lean bulk for half a year while keeping your body fat level relatively low. In the calculator, input your bodyweight and select “normal cut”. At the bottom of the page you’ll see the calories and macros you need to eat every day.
To count macros, weight each food you intend to eat. Then input that quantity in the app called MyNetDiary. Your goal is to consistently hit your protein and calorie intake.
Conclusion
Alright, now let’s put everything together in transformation steps:
- Start lifting with the beginner routine and follow it for 3 months.
- Eat the right amount of calories for you during that time:
– if you’re skinny with less fat, eat a surplus of calories
– if you’re fatter, cut for 4-6 weeks until your belly is flat. At that point, start lean bulking. - After 3 months on the beginner routine, start the intermediate routine. Always focus on getting stronger in the gym. Track your strength progress with a notebook or app.
- Lean bulk slowly over 6-8 months until your body fat level gets around 15-16% body fat.
- At that point, switch to cutting until you get back to 10-12%. Then, lean bulk again until you reach 15-16% body fat. During each lean bulk you should be gaining 5-8 pounds of muscle.
- Repeat this process for 1-2 years, until you’re happy with your muscle development. After the first 6-8 months, at the end of your cutting phase, you should be seeing your abs for the first time.
How to go From Skinny Fat to Muscular
If you want to see exactly what to eat, how to set up your meals, how to go over strength plateaus, how to do cardio, and so on, I recommend the Greek God Program.
It’s written by my friend Greg O’Gallagher from Kinobody and it’s the program I used to build my physique. Designed to develop the key muscles groups for great proportions, this program will definitely help you get to your goal physique faster.
I Do P90x And Still Skinny Fat Man
Click here to learn more about it.