6’1, 165, 23. Started lifting last week (Starting with Fierce 5). My stomach has always been bloated, is it from fat or weak abdominal muscles? I went from 180 to 165 in the past year and my stomach has stayed the same. Would also appreciate if you guys could point out my strengths and weaknesses.
Umm, well, you need to lean out if you want to see abs.
And you need to build muscle if you want bigger muscles.
Glad I could clarify that. 6/10
EDIT:
Yeah, I missed this on the first go-round. @T3hPwnisher ^
You gaining weight while not training was NOT muscle. So if your stomach looks worse/the same, it’s because you got more fat… hate to break it to you.
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You appear undermuscled in general.
Do you engage in any manner of weight training?
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This doesn’t really make sense if you just started lifting last week. I’d say, lift hard enough for long enough that you create some weaknesses - that would be a huge accomplishment most of us don’t make it to.
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It looks like you have good posture.
As far as muscles, you do kinda have some traps. And a little bit of “outer chest.”
Your arms and shoulders look slender. 6’1", 165 is pretty slim in general.
It looks like you could benefit from;
Gaining some mass.
Including some Direct arm and shoulder work along with the Bench Pressing in your program.
Making sure some of your Back work is lat focused, so your traps don’t get all the work.
Tall, slender guys need extra core strength for squatting. And you want some abs, so get some ab work done too.
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I went from 180 to 165, so I did lean out. My stomach has stayed the same though, and it doesn’t feel like fat.
In your mind, what is the difference between “leaning out” and “getting skinnier”?
Does it jiggle? If so, it’s fat.
No sir, it does not jiggle.
Is it a hard lump? if so, is it only hard when you tighten your abs?
None of this is to be mean; it’s an unfortunate reality:
- Unless it’s the most symmetrical (and extraordinarily large) hernia I’ve ever seen, it’s fat.
- Much of that 15 lbs, let’s say 1/3, was water and glycogen.
- You likely did lean out… on the places you care about least. That happens to us all. The places we hold our fat go last.
- You have abdominal fat left to lose, and probably another 15 lbs., to see definition there.
Now, you still aren’t fat by any stretch. So the question becomes what are you trying to achieve? My guess is you want an aesthetic that includes some muscle mass (or you wouldn’t be lifting) and abdominal definition. I don’t think you have a specific goal that includes being sub-150 with a 6-pack.
You’re very young and I’ll assume, from your post, you haven’t been doing a ton on the way into this. That’s actually great! You can go really far by instilling some basic habits:
- Lift 3-4x a week. You’re on a program, so that’s covered.
- Eat 3-5 “balanced” meals a day: equal portions protein, fibrous veggies, energy (this can be starchy carbs or fats; I prefer carbs).
- Do some real conditioning 3x a week.
- Enjoy life!
Just my $0.02
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As others have alluded to, I don’t think anyone would like at you and pinpoint your stomach as a “problem”. Instead of focusing on specific body parts, take @TrainForPain 's advice: develop habits and protocols that will lead to real, full body changes.
In my opinion, it’s more enjoyable (and effective) to focus on performance. If you can run a 6 minute mile, do 15 pull ups, and deadlift twice your body weight you’ll look the part. These are just examples, but pick realistic and “game changer” performance goals. Eat and train to support these goals, and let the rest take care of itself.
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[quote=“ridawg, post:1, topic:279061”]
Fierce 5
[/quote]?? Do tell
It’s a basic abbreviated training/linear progression program à la Starting Strength or Stronglifts, but with a bit of ab work and some curls thrown in for the bros.
Fierce 5 is comprised of 5 simple workouts (supersets combined) that should take just over an hour to complete including stretching and warmups. You will be working out 3 nonconsecutive days a week and alternating between workouts A & B. Ex: Mon-A, Tues-Rest, Wed-B, Thur-Rest, Fri-A, Sat-Rest, Sun-Rest, Mon-B…etc. Each week you’ll add 5 lbs to all of your upper body lifts* and 10lbs to all of your lower body lifts.
Workout A
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Pendlay Rows 3x8
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
Workout B
Front Squat 3x5
Overhead Press 3x5
Romanian Deadlift 3x8
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 (any grip)
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset (I don’t care what ab work you do)
I copied all that from the original bodybuilding forums post. I’d link it, but I’m not sure if that’s allowed.
Gain some muscle and worry about abs later. You’re very undersized at the moment to the point you might be mistaken for a high schooler. The diet and training principles from the book “Super Squats” would certainly serve you well. You can get it in a couple of days on Amazon. Train hard and eat a lot. It really is that simple. Hope you learn to love it and stick with it!
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