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Skinny-fat???

What goals should skinny-fat people have?

jvg0010
jvg0010 g Jay Gut
2 Post(s)
2 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted

Just a bit confused especially with summer right  around the corner. In your (Scott) vids, you suggest that skinny fat people should start with lean gains. I understand that with lean gains you will be feeding your muscles and they will grow but won’t you just be adding fat to the fat that you already have? So your muscles will grow but so will your fat %. Which will take it that much longer to lose enough to have visible abs, etc. Isn’t this counter productive? 

 

I also have a question concerning cutting. What happens to your muscles when you cut? If you’re on a calorie deficit, and your workout is just as intense, are you breaking down your current muscle? 

 

Thanks for your knowledge. 

johnny2603
johnny2603 g John Lees
44 Post(s)
44 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2018
Posted
Posted By: jvg0010

Just a bit confused especially with summer right  around the corner. In your (Scott) vids, you suggest that skinny fat people should start with lean gains. I understand that with lean gains you will be feeding your muscles and they will grow but won’t you just be adding fat to the fat that you already have? So your muscles will grow but so will your fat %. Which will take it that much longer to lose enough to have visible abs, etc. Isn’t this counter productive? 

 

I also have a question concerning cutting. What happens to your muscles when you cut? If you’re on a calorie deficit, and your workout is just as intense, are you breaking down your current muscle? 

 

Thanks for your knowledge. 

So the general rule is while bulking you will gain muscle and fat, and while cutting you will lose muscle and fat. Doing either one slowly will minimize the negative effects (lean bulk will put on smaller amounts of fat, cutting with a slight deficit will save as much muscle as possible). I don't think this general rule applies as much to people who are skinny fat. If you're skinny fat, you have some or a medium amount of body fat but not much muscle mass. If you had muscle mass or higher amounts of fat, you wouldn't fit the "skinny" part of it. Because of this, there is a very good chance you can still benefit from body recomposition, or "newbie gains". So even by being in a slight surplus, it may still be possible for you to burn fat while simultaneously gaining muscle.

 

Even if this isn't possible, by doing a lean bulk you will minimize the amount of fat you add. Having slightly more fat will look better than the starting point if you also add on muscle mass. You only run into problems if you bulk too fast and gain too much fat. I have seen skinny-fat people cut first rather than lean bulk, with some success. The problem is then they just look skinny. They might have abs, but they look emaciated, and then have to start a lean bulk if they want to add on some mass, gaining some fat in the process, anyways. Lean bulking is the best way to go.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: jvg0010

Just a bit confused especially with summer right  around the corner. In your (Scott) vids, you suggest that skinny fat people should start with lean gains. I understand that with lean gains you will be feeding your muscles and they will grow but won’t you just be adding fat to the fat that you already have? So your muscles will grow but so will your fat %. Which will take it that much longer to lose enough to have visible abs, etc. Isn’t this counter productive? 

 

I also have a question concerning cutting. What happens to your muscles when you cut? If you’re on a calorie deficit, and your workout is just as intense, are you breaking down your current muscle? 

 

Thanks for your knowledge. 

@johnny2603 is right. When you're skinny fat, it means you have little to no muscle mass, and the reason for that is normally that you simply aren't feeding your body enough food to grow muscle. In that situation, there's not point cutting because you just end up even skinnier, right? Plus, if you're always keeping your body in a deficit to try and lose fat, it might get to a point where your body decides 'hey, I'm not getting enough food, so I better hold onto this fat for as long as I can!'.

 

Also, this may not apply to you, but it's often the case that when you are skinny fat, you're also in a newbie stage, and when you are a newbie, you can actually gain muscle while losing fat - but you still need to be in that surplus. Would you call yourself a newbie? How long have you been training? And also, what is your current bf%? Because if it's actually super high, then maybe you do need to cut down a bit first like I mentioned in the video.

 

When you cut, you will lose some muscle. But it can be minimized if you keep your training intense (some heavy lifting helps with this), and your protein intake high (about 1.2g-1.5g per pound of lean body weight). This will help your body dip into fat stores before it starts going after your muscle. But it's inevitable that you will lose some.

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SaellF
SaellF g Samuel Franco
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2018
Posted

Hey Scott, everyone!

 

So I'm facing the same situation here. I'm 26, skinny fat and a newbie, that's for sure. I've just become platinum and started the 12 week Home Workout program. So Scott, you have a LOT of great videos, articles and tips (congrats!!!). However, there are so many of them and targeting, apparently, different goals (plus the fact that I'm completely new to this), that I can't decide exactly what to do.

 

So, what are your recommendations for this profile - skinny, with fat accumulated especially around chest and belly?

 

#1 - Which routines and programs should I do? (I have a pair of dumbells and a bench press at home);

#2 - Also, do I have to warm up and stretch those specific muscles everytime before working them out?

#3 - Is running (cardio) recommended when trying to build muscle and shred in this case?

#4 - At last, at some point should all of those recommendations above be changed? When will it be safe (advantageous) to do that?

 

Yeah... I have a lot of questions, hehe. Thank you for your patience guys ;D

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: SaellF

Hey Scott, everyone!

 

So I'm facing the same situation here. I'm 26, skinny fat and a newbie, that's for sure. I've just become platinum and started the 12 week Home Workout program. So Scott, you have a LOT of great videos, articles and tips (congrats!!!). However, there are so many of them and targeting, apparently, different goals (plus the fact that I'm completely new to this), that I can't decide exactly what to do.

 

So, what are your recommendations for this profile - skinny, with fat accumulated especially around chest and belly?

 

#1 - Which routines and programs should I do? (I have a pair of dumbells and a bench press at home);

#2 - Also, do I have to warm up and stretch those specific muscles everytime before working them out?

#3 - Is running (cardio) recommended when trying to build muscle and shred in this case?

#4 - At last, at some point should all of those recommendations above be changed? When will it be safe (advantageous) to do that?

 

Yeah... I have a lot of questions, hehe. Thank you for your patience guys ;D

@SaellF 1. If you're working out at home, then start with the home program because of your limited equipment. If you have access to a gym though, then even as a skinny fat person, you can start with the PPL program to get a better head start on muscle building (the home program will give you a base of muscle as a complete newbie, but not as many gains as the PPL program would give you).

 

2. Yes, always do some kind of warm-up man! Always warm up your shoulders, and then just do a light round of the exercises before each workout (with slightly lower reps or slightly less time that you would use for the actual routine), before you actually start the routine.

 

3. I always recommend doing some running, or other form of cardio, whether you're bulking or not. If you already find it hard to gain weight, then you don't want to do too much running though.. maybe 1-2 times a week for now. It's all about eating enough to be in a surplus though!

 

4. Most stay the same really no matter what. Always do a warm-up, always do some cardio, but you should change your program slightly every 8-12 weeks. As a beginner/newbie though, you can stick with a program for as long as you're seeing results (this is actually true for an advanced lifter too, just that you'll likely need to change more often when you're more advanced as your body will tend to adjust to things a bit quicker. And changing things up is a good way to shock your muscles and overload for growth).

 

Hope that helps!

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SaellF
SaellF g Samuel Franco
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2018
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@SaellF 1. If you're working out at home, then start with the home program because of your limited equipment. If you have access to a gym though, then even as a skinny fat person, you can start with the PPL program to get a better head start on muscle building (the home program will give you a base of muscle as a complete newbie, but not as many gains as the PPL program would give you).

 

2. Yes, always do some kind of warm-up man! Always warm up your shoulders, and then just do a light round of the exercises before each workout (with slightly lower reps or slightly less time that you would use for the actual routine), before you actually start the routine.

 

3. I always recommend doing some running, or other form of cardio, whether you're bulking or not. If you already find it hard to gain weight, then you don't want to do too much running though.. maybe 1-2 times a week for now. It's all about eating enough to be in a surplus though!

 

4. Most stay the same really no matter what. Always do a warm-up, always do some cardio, but you should change your program slightly every 8-12 weeks. As a beginner/newbie though, you can stick with a program for as long as you're seeing results (this is actually true for an advanced lifter too, just that you'll likely need to change more often when you're more advanced as your body will tend to adjust to things a bit quicker. And changing things up is a good way to shock your muscles and overload for growth).

 

Hope that helps!

Wow man!

 

Thanks a lot! I'll keep all that in mind.

For now, I have no option but to stick to Home Workouts. But, like you said, I'll switch to PPL the moment I'm able to hit a gym.

 

But hey, it's hard to believe I should be in a surplus... apparently I have, roughly, 24% bodyfat (with tape measuring). But then again, concentrated on chest and belly.

 

I'll try that though! I trust you bro! hehe 😜 

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: SaellF

Wow man!

 

Thanks a lot! I'll keep all that in mind.

For now, I have no option but to stick to Home Workouts. But, like you said, I'll switch to PPL the moment I'm able to hit a gym.

 

But hey, it's hard to believe I should be in a surplus... apparently I have, roughly, 24% bodyfat (with tape measuring). But then again, concentrated on chest and belly.

 

I'll try that though! I trust you bro! hehe 😜 

@SaellF It's possible that your body fat % is kind of skewed if you're in the skinny fat phase. You can look like you're holding more fat than you really are simply because you don't have much muscle mass to balance it all out.

 

But if you're a newbie, then you should be able to gain muscle and lose fat! You're probably just at the edge of the point where you would need to cut first if you really are at 24% body fat. But, you don't want to get much skinnier I'm guessing? So either a small surplus of about 200 calories over your maintenance, or eating right on maintenance would be good for you to start with.

 

Could you maybe post a photo of your physique if you're up to it? So I can get a gauge of your body fat %?

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SaellF
SaellF g Samuel Franco
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2018
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@SaellF It's possible that your body fat % is kind of skewed if you're in the skinny fat phase. You can look like you're holding more fat than you really are simply because you don't have much muscle mass to balance it all out.

 

But if you're a newbie, then you should be able to gain muscle and lose fat! You're probably just at the edge of the point where you would need to cut first if you really are at 24% body fat. But, you don't want to get much skinnier I'm guessing? So either a small surplus of about 200 calories over your maintenance, or eating right on maintenance would be good for you to start with.

 

Could you maybe post a photo of your physique if you're up to it? So I can get a gauge of your body fat %?

Yeah of course!

 

I'm actually on my 3rd week of the 12 week home edition. It's a bit hard to calculate and cook everything I need, since I'm usually very very busy. Therefore, I'm not exactly sure how much calorie intake I'm having, but I'm trying to keep around maintenance level, oscilating a little bit up or down everyday.

 

So here are some pictures:

 

 

Yeah man... I gotta admit I'm embarassed. But that's just another reason for me to be determined to get out of this and get shredded once and for all! hehe

 

Thanks for all the tips.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: SaellF

Yeah of course!

 

I'm actually on my 3rd week of the 12 week home edition. It's a bit hard to calculate and cook everything I need, since I'm usually very very busy. Therefore, I'm not exactly sure how much calorie intake I'm having, but I'm trying to keep around maintenance level, oscilating a little bit up or down everyday.

 

So here are some pictures:

 

 

Yeah man... I gotta admit I'm embarassed. But that's just another reason for me to be determined to get out of this and get shredded once and for all! hehe

 

Thanks for all the tips.

@SaellF OK so your estimate of 24% is probably about accurate. Because you're a newbie, I don't think you should cut for very long, but maybe cutting back to around the 20% mark would be good to start with. Then from there, you can probably go straight into a small surplus to start building muscle.

 

So for the first 2-3 weeks, try eating at maintenance, or a 200 calorie deficit. Start at maintenance, but then drop the calories a bit if you notice you're not losing fat at all. Like I say, being in the newbie phase, hopefully you will be able to get the best of both worlds!

 

You can use the calculator on the @mealplan page to figure out what your macros and calories should be!

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