Re: Belly fat



chris_ew22@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I'm a young man, 25 years of age, with very skinny and weak arms.

What's your wrist measurement? And what do you define as very skinny?
Measure your arm straight and around your bicep and then flex it and
measure it at the largest point bodybuilder style.

I'm also 6 foot tall, 155-160 lbs. I'm encouraged to eat more, but
I'm discouraged everytime I come out of the shower and see fat around
my belly.

You've got to get rid of the fat to make the belly go away, right?

Skinny arms, not as bad legs but still on the thin side,
but now a protruding belly. OK, to be honest, when I have my shirt
on, nobody can see a belly. But when I take it off, like when I'm
coming out of the shower, and exhale it's definitely there.

So don't exhale.

Uh, wait, that won't help for very long, eh? But being aware of your
posture will help at least in appearance. You can slouch and look
dumpy or stand tall and look better.

I've always been skinny and on the tall side,

Welcome to the club. Hey, you could be short and on the fat side. Then
you could take advice from Will Brink. ;o) (Uh, never mind. Keep
reading.)

detected w/ slight scoliosis during puberty.

Hmm. What'd they do for that?

My stomach wasn't big when I was young. But, I
remember in middle/high school being very weak and unable to do what
lot of my peers were able to do. I am also not flexible.
Unfortunately as a kid, I kept my problems to myself and fitness issues
weren't as much as a concern overall. It was ingrained that if I
could be good in math, that's all that would be what was important.

Yeah, being good in math helps guys pick up lots of chics, right?
Well, I suppose Bill Gates was good in math, but look where it got
him. Yeah, married. Sheesh. All that money and power wasted.

Since I was 23, I have been going to the gym regularly about 2-3 times
a week for a long period (2 years), and but not a whole lot
improvement, except for some stamina gain. Even though not much
improvement has shown, I generally continue going to the gym because I
like the feeling after a workout, and I know I don't want to get worse.

I do cardio, work my torso and abs with some exercises and do weight
training, all following an instructor's workout plan.

Fire your trainer. Yikes! Or are you not doing what they're
recommending? Could you post or type out that workout plan?

However, I still have very weak arms and am not really fit.

Pyramid your arms, shoulders, etc. work.

Y weight by 10 reps, Y + 10 lbs. by 8 reps, Y + another 5 lbs. by 6
reps and some have recommended Y - 5 lbs by 12 to 15 reps for a set.

The idea of pyramiding is to increase the weight while decreasing the
reps as necessary. Take some of your exercises to failure, you know,
attempting as many reps for that weight as possible.

Forget wrist curls, French curls, leg extensions and go with the
compound or big, multi-bodyart moves - squats, bench (or dumbbell
bench presses), deadlifts, bent over rows (or db bent over rows).

And break your meals up over the course of the day rather than eating
just two meals a day. If you're like this skinny guy, you really don't
mind missing meals, but it's probably not the best thing to do if
you're trying to rid your belly of the fatness. Keep your metabolism
fired up by fueling it all day long. No massive meals, but rather the
right food spaced out over the course of the day and split into as
many as eight meals.

One thing I can't afford to do is be at the gym everyday for
2 hours either.

No reason to do 2 hours a day. In fact, I'd say that would be
incredibly counterproductive. Split your body into sections and do
half one day, skip a day or two, and do the other half, skip a day,
and repeat the process.

I drink those protein drinks after my workouts

Switch to a quart of O.J. after your workout instead.

and tend to take more protein supplements now.

What specifically? I'm nosy like that.

I think maybe if I had a lot more protein during my earlier
years, my body would be different.

Doubtful, but maybe. No time machines, so it makes no difference,
though, right?

I eat healthy - vegatables, whole grains and no fast food,
and even more conscious over the last 2 years of avoiding
things like french fries.

Drop the protein drinks and have a burger. Life's too short.

Anyways, is there likely a lack of testosterone that's possible
w/me ?

Talk with your doc? Hey, if you're near Pete, I read his one post
where the docs there can hook you up with therapy to fix that problem.
See your doc.

I was detected with hypertension as well, and it's treated with
medication.

Trying to battle highish bp myself. Diet and treadmill. We'll see (or
die trying).

I read somewhere that belly fat is the worse fat and
causes lot of problems. Although I haven't had a doctor examine my
belly recently - I wonder if the belly fat is keeping my blood pressure
high.

I read that, too, but again, see your doc.

As I read up on partial abdominoplasty, I wonder if it might
do me some help, not with the arms but atleast with protecting myself
from diabetes - as diabetes is often linked with belly fat.

Now this part I suspect is the wrong road to take. Elective surgery to
reduce your gut? The fat will go somewhere else. I'd stick to the
basics and forget the sawbones or anyone sucking the fat from you. No.

Anyone know somebody with my body physique or situation?

Well, I've got the tall and skinny going on as well as the blood
pressure concern. My gut could be more six-packish, but diet,
exercise, and treadmill typically work for me. I've never had a
trainer and I'm happy with my body for the most part:

http://www.piercedornot.com/?i=67

I spared you the horror of looking at my mug, but if you look around
MFW you'll find guys like TBR and JMW have posted several images of my
face. ;o)

What's the best way to get a more ideal body type
if possible?

It's possible. I recommend you get some good books and start reading.
MMI is a great magazine <http://www.emusclemag.com/> and its
publisher/editor has many books out there that would benefit someone
in your position.

Welcome to misc.fitness.weights. Best of luck with your bodybuilding
(and reducing) efforts.

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/
.



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