I've had great muscle growth, but flabby core, help?

[Chanceous]

Hey all,

Thanks for anyone who can provide some help.

First of all, I'm a 26 year old male corporate lawyer at a large and demanding firm--which means I spend much of my time at my desk and working with people who don't care very much about their health.

Second, I weigh 155 lbs., am 5'9" tall, and work out rigorously. I started getting serious about my workouts about a year and a half ago--in September 2006. At that time, I was a typical newbie focusing only on glamor muscles. Around September 2007, I shifted my focus to really develop my legs (love squats) and my back. This isn't to say that I ignore everything else, but I largely ignored most other muscle groups in my focus on my arms and chest. Now I've started to become a serious lifter and I need nutrition help.

Based on the change of my focus, I've had really great gains. I've had positive growth in my calves, quads, hamstrings, shoulders, back, and I've maintained the growth in my arms and chest.

Unfortunately, through all of that--and careful monitoring of my diet--my lower torso area remains a little flabby. My lower back, I'm ashamed to say, is complete flab. Disgusting! This spills over into two nice little love handles that ruin an otherwise great v-shape, and ruins my silhouette in suits and tight t-shirts.

So, what can I do? My instincts say to add a specific day to my workout plan devoted to my core area. In the past, I just did 4 sets of 40 crunches on the exercise ball before my other workouts. I'm thinking now of adding planks, bridges, and weighted crunches. I guess the idea is to tone that area. But I'm not sure.

Can you help?

As a side note, I'd like to say that I'm very disciplined and can stick to whatever suggestions I'm given. So please take your comments seriously, as I intend to make a lifestyle change based on your feedback. Also know that I'm very serious about fitness and health and want to take my body to the next level (or to the next two or three levels).

[PowerManDL]

What's your workout look like now? Diet?

[Chanceous]

Originally Posted by PowerManDL

What's your workout look like now? Diet?

Well, I divide up my week like this: day 1: legs, day 2: back and shoulders, day 3: legs, day 4: chest, day 5: arms. One ach day, I perform 4 sets of 40 crunches on the exercise ball. After lifting, I run 3.25 miles in 30 minutes. Then I call it a day.

Do you need more details?

In terms of diet, I drink a slimfast shake for breakfast at my office, along with an apple. This is around 8:45a. Around 11a, I have another apple. Lunch is around 12:30p and usually consists of a salad and a sandwich with lean protein. Around 2pm, I drink another slimfast shake. Sometime between 2pm and 6pm, I'll eat 2 or 3 more apples. Then I work out. After my workout, my dinner is never standard. After dinner, I don't snack or anything.

I also don't take any supplements, aside from a standard multivitamin and fiber tablets.

Thoughts? Concerns?

[missjane]

I'm no expert, but it looks like you don't get near enough protein or fat or calories in your diet. Instead of Slimfast, how about some good quality whey?

As for your workout, maybe switch up that SS cardio for some HIIT and may some full-body compound strength training instead of splitting it into body parts. Have you looked at NROL?

I'm sure others will chime in with more detailed and expert advice here.

[AFI82]

Does your "flab" look about the same now as it did a year and a half ago?

Initially, I would say that you could probably cut some calories and start to lean down. But it seems like you aren't eating very much to begin with, particularly with as much activity as you partake in. Do you lift 5 days in a row?

I, personally, would move away from the slim fast shakes. I've never liked to quantities/type of calories in them.

Another option, instead of trying to lose fat, would be to really aim to add some muscle. Lift as heavy as you can, take some more days off, cut back (maybe even stop?) the cardio, and eat a little more. If you could put on 10 lbs of lean muscle, I bet the flab wouldn't stand out to you as much as it does now.

[StuWard]

Completely change your diet. Drop the slimfast. You have way too many apples and bread. Both are spiking your insulin causing you to retain fat. You don't eat enough calories to maintain your metabolism and what you do eat is the wrong stuff.

Center your diet around protein from meat, eggs and fish. Eat 6 meals/day. Include 1-2 servings of veg in each meal. Eat at most 2 servings of fruit either in the morning or immediately after your workout. Grains, potatoes, beans and sugar should all be restricted except for immediately after workout. Post workout you should be having protein and sugar, preferrably in liquid form immediately after your workout. Other than that you should consume NO sugar.

Change your workout program. Cut back on the abs and arms. Concentrate on the money exercises: Squats, Deadlifts, Cleans, Snatches, Presses and Pulls. Do Either 3 whole body workouts/week or a 2 way split twice a week (4 days total). Instead of running, do 20 minutes of HIIT twice a week and do 1 long run on the weekend.

If you can't eat Salmon everyday, take fish oil capsules. Try to get about 3 grams total EPA + DHA. You can substitute ground flax or flax oil for about half of that.

This will give you more energy, probably build more muscle and will certainly help you lose the belly.

Stu

[smittygouv]

Originally Posted by Chanceous

So, what can I do? My instincts say to add a specific day to my workout plan devoted to my core area. In the past, I just did 4 sets of 40 crunches on the exercise ball before my other workouts. I'm thinking now of adding planks, bridges, and weighted crunches. I guess the idea is to tone that area. But I'm not sure.

Core work is great and will do many positive things for you. However, just because you are targeting the "core" muscles there is no correlation to decrease fat in the "core" areas. In order to lose the "flab" around the waste, innately you must lose fat. Thats the bottom line. As missjane noted you should try balancing your protein/carb/fat intake. Figure out your daily maintenance caloric needs and go from there.

[eastcoastsurfer]

StuWard pretty much nailed it IMHO.

Dump the slim fast and replace with actual protein shakes, and make sure you're hitting all the money exercises.

[kfisherx]

I third Stu's post. Dude your diet is terrible for anything but fat retention around the belly. I know 'cause I did that for years. I am finally eating enough calories and in the right macros and the belly fat is finally going away.

This may sound weird but you need to eat and real food too.

[justinbass]

I'll also agree that you need to examine your diet a lot.

Ditch the slim fast shakes and apples, and concentrate on eating a lot of protein and add more vegetables.

[Chanceous]

Excellent.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Because of my job, it's hard to eat 6 meals with protein. Is it okay to use whey protein shakes instead?

[RacerBill]

Originally Posted by Chanceous

Because of my job, it's hard to eat 6 meals with protein. Is it okay to use whey protein shakes instead?

Yes, absolutely, you can use protein shakes. I'm assuming you mean shakes as snacks and you'll still have some regular meals with veggies and meat.

[Biskit]

Originally Posted by Chanceous

Excellent.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Because of my job, it's hard to eat 6 meals with protein. Is it okay to use whey protein shakes instead?

What great suggestions from everyone! They are spot on! Especially StuWard.

Start bringing a cooler to work. Pack some healthy stuff. Lean protein like chicken, veggies, nuts like almonds, cashews, etc. Protein from food is your first goal. Protein shakes are great, but try not to have one as a meal per se.

Good luck!

Deb

[K-Court]

Chanceous, I agree with much that has been said already. You clearly need to educate yourself, and focus, on your diet. You may want to check out John Berardi's Precision Nutrition website Precision Nutrition, Mike Roussel's Naked Nutrition Guide Fat Loss | Fat Loss Nutrition | Health and Diet Plans | Permanent Weight Loss or Schuler/Cosgrove's New Rules of Lifting Amazon.com: New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle: Lou Schuler,Alwyn Cosgrove: Books. All would be good resources for you to figure out how to focus your dietary needs. Also, I would recommend keeping a nutrition log at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal. It's very helpful, once you have a plan, to track your progress in that way on a day-to-day basis ... at least at the beginning while you're working things out.

I too am a corporate lawyer (albeit in-house) and understand some of your limitations. I do think though, with proper meal planning and execution, you can meet your dietary needs in an office setting. And you can do it without entirely relying on supps. It means buying a cooler or big insulated lunch bag and bringing a whole lot of food with you to the office. (I'm assuming you have a fridge in which you can store food.) It means spending some time each evening preparing and packing for the next day. It means carrying an extra bag with you ... I take public transit to work ... it can be done. It also means getting weird looks and comments from your colleagues. But that goes with the territory. Of course, it all takes some discipline but you say you have that in spades so use it to your advantage. You can do it. I know. I have.

[Chanceous]

Originally Posted by K-Court

Chanceous, I agree with much that has been said already. You clearly need to educate yourself, and focus, on your diet. You may want to check out John Berardi's Precision Nutrition website Precision Nutrition, Mike Roussel's Naked Nutrition Guide Fat Loss | Fat Loss Nutrition | Health and Diet Plans | Permanent Weight Loss or Schuler/Cosgrove's New Rules of Lifting Amazon.com: New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle: Lou Schuler,Alwyn Cosgrove: Books. All would be good resources for you to figure out how to focus your dietary needs. Also, I would recommend keeping a nutrition log at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal. It's very helpful, once you have a plan, to track your progress in that way on a day-to-day basis ... at least at the beginning while you're working things out.

I too am a corporate lawyer (albeit in-house) and understand some of your limitations. I do think though, with proper meal planning and execution, you can meet your dietary needs in an office setting. And you can do it without entirely relying on supps. It means buying a cooler or big insulated lunch bag and bringing a whole lot of food with you to the office. (I'm assuming you have a fridge in which you can store food.) It means spending some time each evening preparing and packing for the next day. It means carrying an extra bag with you ... I take public transit to work ... it can be done. It also means getting weird looks and comments from your colleagues. But that goes with the territory. Of course, it all takes some discipline but you say you have that in spades so use it to your advantage. You can do it. I know. I have.

Excellent.

No, this is fine. There is a refridgerator across the hall from me and I am willing to buy my own mini fridge and put it in my office. I am willing to do what it takes--but, as many people have pointed out, my good intentions are misdirected because I lack the knowledge. So the cool thing is that there is a grocery store in my office building. With the fridge access and the grocery store onsite, I am well equipped. As long as I know what to do.

[K-Court]

Putting in a plug for JP's annual fitness summit ... if you can spare a few days in late May, you could take a weekend trip to Little Rock to hear Alan Aragon expound on nutrition. It would be worth your while if you've got the time/inclination.

[kfisherx]

I cook up chicken breast (4 or more) every weekend