Training twice a week + Skinny fat

[Zabulon]

Hello, everyone! This is yet another post about someone stuck in the skinnyfat limbo.
I have been training twice a week for the past year. While I believe it to be enough to make progress in itself (I have been training more in the past and it led me nowhere, in accordance with one of Truthseeker's post btw), it remains that I have been  stuck in skinny-fatness since I've started lifting, some 2 or 3 years ago.
I weigh 76 Kg (167 lbs) and I am 186cms (6'1). I don't have that of a huge belly, but I have no arms, no legs, and have never seen even the shadow of my abs : It seems that I just can't seem to develop muscle without gaining fat in the midsection. I used to be overweight as a kid. I lost 25kg 3 years ago : lost a lot of muscle/fat but no loose skin.

My current diet is supposed to be a 'bulking diet'. I'm extremely slowly gaining weight, and eating 2800 kcals a day. I eat very healthy. 
Program is :
Squat 4x5 ( Max : 84kg x5)
Bench Press ( Max : 74kg x5)
Weighted chin ups 
Lateral raises
Rowing

Thank you for reading. It is a long post but I wanted to provide you as much information as possible.

[Jerb]

Remove sugar from your diet. Pop, chocolate, juice. Also most sauces you buy from the store contain sugar. Even pre cooked meats, like wings for an example, read the ingredients on the box. I removed these items from my diet and lost my 15 pounds in about 2 months time.

Hope this helps.

[Plato]

hmm I been skinny fat and fat before . I am 6ft 145 at 13% then bulk to 155 again just rinse and repeat Intel I am happy . use the mirror because its your best friend and it does not lie . the weight is just so I dont bulk up too much .

my diet is about 80% healthy and 20 % crap food make sure veg and fruit and meat is all there and crab reefed every once in a while . also I dont count calories its good at the beginning to see were you are and how much food you need but I think it can lead to paranoid disorder . it gotten so bad I know what calories are in most food give and take it the label doesn't lie lol . "I just take Truth seeker advice on low crab diet " I think keeping it simple is best with these things . I am quite happy with my body best wishes

[TruthSeeker]

Hello, everyone! This is yet another post about someone stuck in the skinnyfat limbo.
I have been training twice a week for the past year. While I believe it to be enough to make progress in itself (I have been training more in the past and it led me nowhere, in accordance with one of Truthseeker's post btw), it remains that I have been  stuck in skinny-fatness since I've started lifting, some 2 or 3 years ago.
I weigh 76 Kg (167 lbs) and I am 186cms (6'1). I don't have that of a huge belly, but I have no arms, no legs, and have never seen even the shadow of my abs : It seems that I just can't seem to develop muscle without gaining fat in the midsection. I used to be overweight as a kid. I lost 25kg 3 years ago : lost a lot of muscle/fat but no loose skin.

My current diet is supposed to be a 'bulking diet'. I'm extremely slowly gaining weight, and eating 2800 kcals a day. I eat very healthy. 
Program is :
Squat 4x5 ( Max : 84kg x5)
Bench Press ( Max : 74kg x5)
Weighted chin ups 
Lateral raises
Rowing

Thank you for reading. It is a long post but I wanted to provide you as much information as possible.

I am not sure you are as skinny-fat as you think. Not seeing your abs does not mean you are skinny-fat. You may be "normal" or average.

Skinny-fat describes dudes who have vicious man boobs and very noticeable pockets of fat around the waist. The fact that you don't have shredded abs does not mean that you are skinny-fat.

[Zabulon]

Thank you for your answers!
Shredded abs are not the objective anyway so I did mention it for you to picture my body composition but it does not bother me that much.
I am not sure I can trust myself with portion sizes without weighing them haha

[Inder]

In my opinion just exercise regularly, one to three times a week & eat when your hungry & stop when your full. Keep your diet reasonably healthy & don't worry about the way you look... just accept it for what it is.

I wish I did that when younger, could have saved myself from a lot of stress, wasted time & wasted money.

[wetdog]

Believe it or not, but I've learned in my Physiology, Anatomy, Nutrition, and Psycho-biology classes, that stress takes a toll on your body. If you are in a very stressful environment, whether it is caused by external factors or even yourself, you might not achieve the physique you're looking for. I'd suggest taking this slow; it's never good to rush.

That, or it could maybe be a hitchhiking worm in ya somewhere, haha!

[Gary Silver]

Without giving details of your workout, it's hard to tell exactly why you're not making progress you want. But it's safe to say that working out twice a week is not enough to make gains and your diet probably can use a boost, if you're not getting enough protein AND you need to rest.  You may be better with three full body workouts a week. That's too much for me, so I work each muscle group twice a week. Some may say it's too much, but it works for me.

Truth be told, everyone needs to discover what workout works best for you and it does require a lot of experimentation and no trainer can tell you what works best.

Having said that, though, examine what you are doing. Are you using weights for reps that challenge your muscles, or do you use a comfortable weight for a specific number of reps regardless of how much it works you? 


If you do have a belly, it's mostly diet, but as I have discovered about myself, genetics also plays a part and even when I was skinny I still had a middle and even when I do all the right things, I never had nor doubt I ever will have a six pack.

Hope this helps.

[Zabulon]

Well, I'm a young teacher so yes, I guess that I live in a pretty stressful environment!
My current program :
Squat 4x5
Bench Press 4x5
weighted chin ups 5x6-8
Lateral Raises (high reps)
Rows 4x5

(I change the order of exercises a bit from one workout to the other)

I really use challenging weights (for me!) but I have been plateauing for quite some time now. I always end the last set by grinding the last reps. In the end, the problem might be that i'm afraid of gaining fat. I'm afraid that although the weights would go up with a larger caloric input, I would end up as I have once been.
In fact, I've been stuck in this for some years now haha.

Thanks for your input, I've read all your answers carefully.

[jimjohnson]

Hello, everyone! This is yet another post about someone stuck in the skinnyfat limbo.
I have been training twice a week for the past year. While I believe it to be enough to make progress in itself (I have been training more in the past and it led me nowhere, in accordance with one of Truthseeker's post btw), it remains that I have been  stuck in skinny-fatness since I've started lifting, some 2 or 3 years ago.
I weigh 76 Kg (167 lbs) and I am 186cms (6'1). I don't have that of a huge belly, but I have no arms, no legs, and have never seen even the shadow of my abs : It seems that I just can't seem to develop muscle without gaining fat in the midsection. I used to be overweight as a kid. I lost 25kg 3 years ago : lost a lot of muscle/fat but no loose skin.

My current diet is supposed to be a 'bulking diet'. I'm extremely slowly gaining weight, and eating 2800 kcals a day. I eat very healthy. 
Program is :
Squat 4x5 ( Max : 84kg x5)
Bench Press ( Max : 74kg x5)
Weighted chin ups 
Lateral raises
Rowing

Thank you for reading. It is a long post but I wanted to provide you as much information as possible.


same weight as i am and i am 5ft 7"

I'll swap some muscle for some height?

Skimming over it...i guess we are all different. Yo are naturally lean. But you need to put a few kilo of muscle on.

Focus on dl's. squats, bench, shoulder press, curls.

Do less reps but try and get heavier. Even just one set of but get those numbers up. The amount you do is not as important.  

Work out max 3 times a week....only doing each lift once or twice. Track the numbers. If you not progressing you are not growing.

Keep your protein levels high...

That's about all you can do.

Do this for 12+ months i gurantee you will see some improvement. That's all we hope for. 

---

Well, I'm a young teacher so yes, I guess that I live in a pretty stressful environment!
My current program :
Squat 4x5
Bench Press 4x5
weighted chin ups 5x6-8
Lateral Raises (high reps)
Rows 4x5

(I change the order of exercises a bit from one workout to the other)

I really use challenging weights (for me!) but I have been plateauing for quite some time now. I always end the last set by grinding the last reps. In the end, the problem might be that i'm afraid of gaining fat. I'm afraid that although the weights would go up with a larger caloric input, I would end up as I have once been.
In fact, I've been stuck in this for some years now haha.

Thanks for your input, I've read all your answers carefully.

The volume is far too big.....you cannot lift heavy (relative) with that volume.

What weight can you deadlift? Shoulder press? Squat?

Here are my numbers: dl: 1 rep max 180kg 5 rep 160kg  (rack pull 250kg i cannot go higher as the bar is full + I'll leave it there now)
Squat: 130kg   120kg ( i struggle on squats)
Shoulder press: 80kg   67.5kg ( i tried for 100kg 1 rep max.....but it aint happening)

Now we are all different. But where are your numbers compared to this?

Do not use weights as a form of exercise. Build strength= build muscle

There will be a big difference between lifter A and lifter B

A: Shoulder press set of 20 at 45kg

B: Shoulder press 65kg x 5.

  For some reason people think high rep's is the answer not weight lifted.