Skinny-Fat Guy's Last Shot Log!

Rigardo

01/02/11
So what's this about!?

I am a skinny-fat person. I have skinny arms and skinny legs with very little muscle on either. My problem is that any (and all the) weight I put on goes to my pecs and my abs.

It could be worse as my flaws can be easily concealed in casual clothes. For all some people know, I could have the abs of a Greek God! That said, I'm not happy. I used to be a fat kid, then I stretched out to 5'11 in my teen years but I never had a flat stomach or 6-pack.

I'm calling this Log my "Last Shot" as over the past few years I have tried and failed. I'm 28 years old and I know that this doesn't get any easier the older you get.

I have joined a gym (again :rolleyes:) and have a 6 month contract. I figure if I can't sort myself out (or make good head way) in 6 months, I'm probably not going to. I have my first day and assessment tomorrow. I'll be posting my weight, BMI and program tomorrow.

Although I plan to post pics of my progress, I won't be posting any until I've made some progress. I don't think seeing my man boobs every time I go to post in this log will motivate me

All your comments are welcome, wish me luck!

Rigardo

02/02/11

Well I've everything I need to get started.

I began my day by taking a trip to my local health food store. I wanted to get some form of protein to give me the best chance of getting results. The guy behind the counter was very helpful, giving me a few options and advice for my body type. I decided to go for a protein by a company called Metaphysics (made in New Zealand) called Lean Shot. It has a good percentage of protein along with caffeine and fat burners.

My 1st day and assessment were at 12 and went really well. I explained how I had tried but failed before. I also realised that although I was very motivated the last time I really tried I had taken on too much. My trainer said she was going to put me on a program that would get me back into the swing of things and allow me to learn and lift with perfect form as opposed to struggling with the weights.

So before I give you my program for the next 6 weeks, here are my stats and goals:

Blood Pressure: 105/70 (Low but not below 90 is ok)
Height: 5'11 (I thought I was 6' for so long )
Weight: 78Kgs* (and have been for years)
Body Fat %: 16.5
Fat Weight: 12.9Kgs (Est)
Lean Weight: 65.1Kgs

She also put me on a bike and hooked me up to a heart rate monitor. She wanted to check my "Estimated Maximum Oxygen Uptake"...
In a nut-shell this tests how well my heart pumps blood around my body/fitness.

At 125 watts with a heart rate of 125bpm I was pumping 48 Ml of blood per Kg per min... This rated me as good (3/4). I know this is pretty boring stuff but I just wanted to document it here to keep track of it. On to the program!

I committed to 3 days with an optional 4th. I'll also be jogging 3 days a week or when I can. I'm on my 2nd week of Couch to 5Km. This was mentioned elsewhere in the forum and gets you from your couch to running 5Km in six weeks. It's feels very achievable and is worth a look if you're looking to make a start yourself. So where was I?... Ah, the program!

So she has me warming up on a bike or rower for 10mins before I start lifting. All are 10 Reps and 3 Sets:

Assisted Chin-ups: 60Kg (Managed 10:10:7 my arms are very weak)

Leg Press: 40Kg (10:10:10 Not too hard, I should be able to up this soon)

Free Bench Press (10:10:6 Made the mistake of starting with 40Kg and had to change in the 2nd and 3rd set for 20Kg. Will try 25 or 30Kg next time)

Leg Curl: 18Kgs (10:10:10 Tough enough, should be able to up it in a week or so)

Seated Row: 30Kgs (10:10:10 Same as above)

Stability Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30

Plank: Hold for 30Secs 3 sets

Stretch to warm down.

So that's my program! I had a protein shake before and after. I could almost hear my muscles thanking me

I'll be going for a jog tomorrow so I won't be updating until after my next session. Seeing as this post has all my info (and life story) the posts from here on should be a lot shorter.

Any questions or advice welcome, thanks!

* Oh yea, she said this wasn't the figure we'd be focusing on as my weight could very well go up as I lose fat and build muscle.

Rigardo

Ok, back in the gym again today. With a little tweeking:

Assisted Chin-ups: 60Kg (10:10:10ish the last 2 wern't great but I'm still really sore from day 1)

Leg Press: I upped the weight from day 1 as I had found it a bit easy 10x70Kg: 10x80Kg: 10x80Kg That's more like it!

Bench Press 30Kg (10:10:8 Changed to a locked in bench press as I don't have anyone to spot me. I may change this again to a dumb bell press to give me the best of both worlds)

Leg Curl: 18Kgs (10:10:10 same as day 1 but sore sore sore)

Seated Row: 36Kgs (10:10:10 upped this 6Kg from day 1 and just managed)

Stability Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30

Stability Ball Side Crunches: 2 sets of 15 (I added these to toughen the session up a little

Plank: Hold for 30Secs 3 sets

Stretch to warm down.

I had a protein shake before and after. Feeling good and motivated but my muscles are aching.

Rigardo

Started with a 20 minute spin on a bike to get the heart going

Assisted Chin-ups: 60Kg (10:10:10ish again the last 2 weren't great I was hoping for an improvement but it's still early days)

Leg Press: I upped the weight from day 1 as I had found it a bit easy 10x70Kg: 10x70Kg: 10x70Kg I was mistaken in my last post about the 80Kg. I reckon I'll get there soon enough though.

Dumb Bell Press 10Kg each hand (10:10:10 going to try 12Kg next session)

Leg Curl: 26Kgs (10:10:10 upped from last post)

Seated Row: 36Kgs (10:10:10x42Kg had a go at 42Kg on my last set but the 9th and 10th rep were a bit messy)

Stability Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30

Stability Ball Side Crunches: 2 sets of 15

Plank: Hold for 30Secs 3 sets

Stretch to warm down.

Another session down. I forgot to mention I'll be getting re-assessed and re-measured after 6 weeks. I'll be very happy if I can get my body fat % down. I've got to keep positive and most important, watch my diet!

mickman

lot of this is a waste of time

e.g. Leg Curl, Stability Ball Crunches, Plank etc

squats will do much more for you than most of the nonsense you got in this program

you are also doing too many reps - anything more than 8 is too much

Rigardo

Hi Mickman,

Thanks for the reply. I know it doesn't look that good right now but I don't think what I'm doing is a waste of time. What I'm doing is getting back into training by strengthening my body all over.

I understand doing less reps with heavier weights is the way to go to build muscle but I need a starting point. Even a basic level of strength to allow me to lift with the correct technique.

You mention squats being the way to go, but for the moment I'm doing a leg press which has a very similar motion and feel to squats. I also quite like the Stability Ball Crunches. I prefer them to ground crunches as they require you to balance on the ball, using more muscle to do so. I'm not mad about the Planks but I can feel the burn in my lower abs when I do them. As far as I've always known strengthening your core was very important to prevent injury, build muscle and get a 6 pack!

I mentioned before that this program was to get me back into the swing of things. I have every intention to change/tweak it in a few weeks but I've also mentioned that I've tried this before and took on too much too soon. This caused injury, disheartening and eventually failure.