I’m 34 years old (soon to be 35), 5’9 and weigh about 153. I am skinny with small wrists and ankles with very little fat around my arms and legs BUT I have a fairly substantial amount of fat around my stomach and a little around the chest, and I also have the so called love handles. I look pretty much like a normal thin guy with clothes on, but when I’m naked I swear I look almost like one of those starving kids with the bloated stomach you see on tv. Well not quite that bad, but you know what I mean.
Anyway, I’m wondering if someone can tell me a good workout/nutrition plan that would work for someone with my body type. I’d like to lose most of the fat around my stomach and pack some muscle on my scrawny little frame. I don’t necessarily want “ripped” abs or get humongous muscles. But if I could just get my stomach flat and put on about 20 pounds of muscle over the next 6 months, I’ll be as happy as a little girl!(instead of looking like one) Is this possible in that amount of time, especially at my age? If so, what’s the best way to go about it? I prefer to work out at home and I currently have an old DP weight bench with leg attachment, standard barbell, dumbbells, and a swiss ball.
I just recently started working out seriously about 3 or 4 weeks ago, only working out twice a week full-body doing 2 sets of 10-15 reps on bench press, bent-over row, bb shrug, seated overhead db press, leg curl, and I’ve been doing as many reps as I can on the squat for 2 sets with no weight. I think I’d rather split the workouts in half because my energy level and motivation get pretty low towards the end of the full-body workout, but most seem to think full-body is better for a beginner. I’ve also had some problems getting through the bent-over rows because I have a mild inguinal hernia and a pretty weak lower back, but the one-arm db rows just didn’t feel right and felt like nothing was getting worked.
Nutrition-wise I haven’t really kept details of what I’m eating or how many calories. I’ve just tried to cut down on the fast food and sugar a bit and eat more nutritious food. I walk/jog about 30 min. 2 or 3 times a week and occasionally play a little basketball. I’m still confused on whether I should concentrate on mass building or losing the fat around my belly first or If I’m at the beginning stage where some have said you can do both simultaneously. And I don’t know if that would be best accomplished with a slight calorie deficit or calorie surplus for someone with my build.
Anyway, sorry if this sounded like a bunch of rambling but I felt I needed to give as much detail as possible to get the help I need with this. Don’t be afraid to insult me or criticize me or call me a dumbass or whatever if it’s helpful info. Just don’t talk about my mama or I will beat you down…as soon as I put on some muscle!