Legs are shredded, arms are shredded, abs... not shredded

[Warren]

Hi folks,

I've been on 5x5 since jan 2008 and I bloody love it. This is the old 5x5, i don't know what's up with new one???

Anyway, I weigh 73kg and have managed to build my squat up to 102.5kg which I am absolutely ecstatic about! So close to my 1.5x goal. Problem is... I still don't really look that strong. When I'm out of the gym people don't really know that I work out - but when I'm in the gym I get a few compliments on my squat which is great. Anyways... all of this hard work has given me a fantastic lower and upper body physique but my middle section has been left behind. Now I'm not fat at all (only 73kg), I am getting nice broad shoulders and my thighs are fucking massive and ripped but my abs don't feel that great. When I'm squatting I DO feel my abs working really hard, but on my off days I still see that annoying layer of fat over my abs. It's the only fat I have on my body and it's really annoying. I feel really strong but I still don't want to take my shirt off at the beach... it's ironic - body issues maybe.

Now... I don't want to lose any more weight. My goal is 76kg and I really want to reach that, but I also want to get rid of that fat at the same time.

Should I keep working towards my goal knowing that the bit of stomach fat will take care of itself, or should I do some things differently?

Cheers
Warren

[Lex]

You've accomplished a lot in less than a year (more than most people ever will) and you should be proud. You will probably achieve what you want by just continuing what you are doing. How is your diet? Eating small meals five or six times a day will help, if you're not already doing that.

[jtabler]

You need to gain more weight. Often, when you are light, the fat looks worse than it actually is. To lose the fat, you'd really be in for a battle with your body over your fat stores. However, if you gain muscle, you'll see the fat diminish. You'll still have the same amount of fat volume, it will just look totally different.

A body building program will help with this. Try packing on 7kg of muscle and you'll see a huge difference in how your gut looks. Obviously one ab exercise per workout would benefit your core as well.

[Warren]

Thanks guys.

I might add in some turkish get ups after each workout and just continue working towards my goal of 76+kg and increasing my lifts. By that point I figure I'll have greater muscle mass and it should make easy work of the fat.

Any more advice?

[LudwigVan]

Now I'm not fat at all (only 73kg)

As Mehdi says, your weight doesn't tell you anything about how much fat you have. What is your bodyfat percentage? People store fat in different ways. It's not unusual to be skinny in many places but have extra fat around your midsection.

[ricardo]

What do you eat?

[Warren]

typical day will be something like 5 eggs and cheese omelet with cereal/milk. -> tuna/toast -> chicken/rice/veggies -> meat/veggies -> tuna/toast : with fruits and milk throughout the day.

[overdrive23]

Two things I thought of whilst reading this:

1.) You might not have enough abdominal muscle for it to show. This happens to a lot of hard trainers that know not to do endless amounts of sit ups. Try doing some weighted ab pulldowns or something with weights.

2.) Your diet might need to be tweaked. Now, it looks like your eating the right kind of foods...but your timing may be off. Fruits and other carbs should be limited to the first 1/2 of your day. Depending on when you train, you wants some good carbs around your workout, before, during, after (in the form of a shake/fruit maybe). But after your training and shakes are gone....stick to very very low (if any) carb meals.

The mid section is the last part to come through for everyone...just keep working at your lifts and get that diet dialed in.

[Warren]

Thank you for bringing that up overdrive. I've also been thinking about my carb intake and I have some questions that you, or someone else, can hopefully answer.

Are carbs needed to help repair the body? I.e. what I think I mean is, if I limit my carb intake to only the periods you mention, will my body fall into a catabolic state? As I said, I only weigh 73 kg, so I don't want to lose weight.