Newbie Seeking Advice to Get More Defined

Hi All, just joined the site. Been working out for the last couple of years. 6ft, 97kg, 48 chest, 33 waist and 18.5 bicep cold over 19 pumped.

Looking for any tips on how to get a more defined look. Don’t look fat but not ripped either. Do plenty of cardio, diet is in check and sensible but just can’t seem to get the Bf percentage down. I do drink beer it has to be said but surely I don’t have to completely abstain from beer to get a bit more ripped?

Comments and tips appreciated

Eat less

Umm…

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The majority of the time, this doesn’t really mean what people think it means. What, exactly, did you eat yesterday?

What’s your lifting plan look like? The days, exercises, sets, and reps. The more detail, the better we can help.

What does “plenty of cardio” mean? Walking an hour a day 6 days a week? Tabata bike intervals 4 days a week?

You probably don’t have to abstain, but the overwhelming majority of people cut out alcohol when they focus 100% on getting lean.

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1626 calories per day! Not sure less is a good idea

Great definition!

Is it possible that just before taking that picture, you slipped onto a pair of scissors and accidentally cut about 2.5-3” off of the beginning of your measuring tape?

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Thanks for the reply.

Ok cardio is T25 in the mornings and then weights etc evenings focusing on a muscle group per day and yes legs too :slight_smile: I’m recently doing drop sets and they seem to make me really feel like I have put in maximum effort. I also play soccer one a week for 90 minutes.

I use a calorie counter for my diet, I get my 5 a day, I drink plenty of water. Weigh protein twice per day and food is generally lean in 15 by Jo Wicks or focusing on protein foods from muscle foods and plenty of salads or veg but not carb loaded.

Just to confirm I work out to feel healthier but yes at 44 I do want to ok as good as I can for my age.

So just wondering if there’s something I’m missing, not doing that I should try it perhaps my approach isn’t right for what I want to achieve?

Thanks

:slight_smile: no. The small barrel fell off last night so a new tape on its way.

They look bigger in that picture for sure.

What are your macros? I think knowing that is more important than seeing your 19" biceps

Something seems off. You have a 15" drop? (the difference between your chest and waist). That would be very impressive, and means you should look extremely athletic. A 10" drop would be quite good, much beyond that would be fantastic.

You’re doing: T25 (a very hard, intense workout), plus a full on lifting program, all at ~1620 calories at ~215 lbs? That doesn’t make sense. I’m your age, lift 3x a week, usually do 2-3 days of cardio/sports, and eat ~2800-3000 calories a day to maintain a 170 lb bodyweight. How long have you been following the workout/eating plan you’re currently on?

According to what I can find, you would need ~3400 - 3500 calories to maintain your weight. Even if you did a 30% deficit (the most recommended), you would need something close to 2500 calories a day. Eat more!

I had 18.5” arms too. Then I lost 40lbs and they were just under 17”.

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Thanks for the reply. I have been following this for the last 3 months.

When I started out I was only 13 stone, 42 chest, 30 waist and 12.5 arms. That was 4 years ago.

I had to focus on weight gain first and ate lots and at least 7 times a day.

My body just can’t handle more calories these days if I increase I seem to tire and loose energy.

Can I still increase calories sensibly and drop Bf and achieve better tone?

I know I’m doing something wrong and I found this site and after reading lots of threads thought this would be a good place to get some advice and tips.

To me, it seems like you’ve been eating more than maintenance the last few years to focus on weight gain and muscle growth. Now that your ~35 lbs heavier, you want to be leaner and more defined so you’re eating way below maintenance to get there (along with possibly a unsustainable workout program). What’s worked well for me is find sustainable workout and eating approaches to stay within a close range of where I want to be. That’s the hard part, though.

Thanks for the feedback, I do wonder if my body stores bad fat because I’m not eating enough. Perhaps I will up the calories for a couple of months, drop the weight sessions from 6 per week to 3 and hope the t25 90 day programme does what people seem to say it does.

I will check back in with some progress or more questions after I’m 4 weeks in.

I’d recommend reducing some workload before shooting calories way up (you still need to be above 1600 either way). Both cardio and calories are just creating a deficit - you can reduce that deficit (assuming that’s our goal, more later) by reducing cardio. This has the added benefit of giving you some time back in your life (generally important for us older gents), reducing cortisol (I do think this actually matters even for just general mood), and improving your recovery from weight training (assuming you reduce and don’t eliminate).

Now the bad news: I don’t believe you’re actually doing all that, taking in 1626 calories per day, and not losing weight. Your workload is too high and calories too low for a sensible and sustainable plan, but you would have still lost weight because science. Be honest with yourself (and we’ve all been there): do you count the calories from the beers? Do they turn into a couple more than you think? Do you maybe hit 1626 on the days you track and then assume you’re keeping it tight on the weekends? Etc.

The really bad news: I can’t lose a pound if I drink more than one day a week. I don’t know how much I believe all the articles about “your body has to burn booze first so you can’t burn other calories,” but the fact remains it’s a hard stop for me.

Good luck!

Yeah over 40 anything more than 1-2 beers , once a week MAX, is going straight to your waist line and staying there. Prob best find another drink red wine etc and as others stated take some time off booze totally for awhile

For diet read a bunch of articles by guys like John Beradi. TC luoma has some interesting stuff on gut health