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Bodyweight Bodyweight workout - A Skinny-fat program

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Boyadeh

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Hello everybody, I'm from Italy so please forgive my not perfect English. I'm a 24 years old male, 1.78cm and 70Kg, skinny fat for probably 23 years.

I've been training now for the past 12 months with only bodyweight excersises, and I had good results in terms of arms (triceps in particular), shoulder and back muscles' size. On the contrary, for what concerns the torso, I haven't seen many results: in fact, being skinny fat for so many years, I still have fat on my torso, especially located on the zone on the love handles and over my abs ( of course ), but a bit also on my chest. I share now the program I've been following the last months:

Note that, talking about push ups, I started with only my weight ( and I could barely do 5 push ups with good form ), but as I increased my strength I started to add weights with a vest, and in order to perform 10 to 12 good form push ups I'm now adding 10 Kg for the first 2 set of each type of push up, and 8 Kg for the third of each type.


Mon - Chest,Triceps, Shoulders
Standard push ups: 3 x 10-12
Wide grip push ups: 3 x 10-12
Diamond push ups: 3 x 10-12
Dips: 3 x Max (Now doing 8-6-6, then I do assisted dips to reach the optimal range. I started 3 months ago)
Elevated pike push ups: 3 x 10-12

Tue - Abs workout

Wed - Back and Biceps
Standard pull ups: 3 x Max (Now doing 3-2-2 AHAH, I started only 1 month ago)
Standard Bodyweight rows, prone grip: 2 x 10-12
Wide Bodyweight rows, prone grip: 2 x 10-12
Standard Chin ups: 3 x Max (Now doing 5-3-2 AHAH, I started only 1 month ago)
Standard Bodyweight rows, supine grip: 2 x 10-12
Close Bodyweight rows, supine grip: 2 x 10-12
Biceps Push ups: 3 x 10-12 ì, with added weight.

Thu - Rest

Fryday - Chest,Triceps, Shoulders

Sat - Back and Biceps

Sun - Rest

In addiction to that, I play basketball at a decent level, and I have a 90min training 3 times a week.


Concerning the diet, I don't follow a strict diet and I don't track my calories, nor my macros. But I don't drink sweet drinks like Coca-Cola because I really don't like them ( I'm lucky ), and I barely drink alcohol, maybe a beer every 1-2 months, and I follow a classic "mediterranean diet":

Breakfast - Milk with cereals, and jam on rusks
Lunch - Pasta and maybe some bread with cheese or cured meat
Afternoon snack - 1 or 2 nuts, and a fruit
Dinner - Meat or fish or eggs, maybe bread, vegetables and some fruit

I don't track my calories because I think I can "feel" how much I'm eating because, over these months, I've seen that when I ate less for 2-3 months the fat over my abs reduced and I could see them and then when I instead ate more I got more fat around my belly. Anyways, note that my arms, my back and my chest (even with that little fat) have seen good results, at least for what I expected by doing these exercises.


As a results of that, when I wear a short-sleeved shirt people could think that I've been training well, because of my arms, forearms, back, etc, but without it I would probably look as If I trained only my arms because my torso isn't so different from 1 year ago.

In conclusion my questions are: How can I develop my torso in order to make it "fit", to make it look like the one of an athlete, with visible abs ( I'm not asking for super shredded ones), absent fat on the love handles, nice shape, ect?? Should I just follow my program? Should I cut while continuing following my program and then, when I've slimmed down, start to eat with a small calorie surplus? Should I add core exercises?

I know that by doing these exercises I won't reach the benefits of a gym, but i think that it must show some good results!!
Thank you for your help
smile.gif
 
Benvenuti first of all..

Have you considered reaching out to a strongfirst instructor in Italy??

I would suggest these things

Your program needs more lower body work and focusing on working up to one arm pushups and wall handstand pushups, the extra tension will help you build muscle

Ona surface level, your eating plan needs more protein
 
You could probably get the results you are looking for faster by buying two or three kettlebells and following the Simple and Sinister program. If you are committed to body weight work then I will second tge recommendation to get some expert instruction. In my experience it is easier to cheat in body weight exercises then with a kettlebell - for example, kipping on pukl ups. If you want to get results with that approach, you really need to make sure you are doing strict versions of the exercises.
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
Welcome !

I would add some leg work, following the "never skip leg day" ;) Indeed, working on the leg (squat, DL) will increase growth hormone response, so you'll reap all the benefits.

You can also work toward one arm (or one arm one leg) push up. These moves are terrific as far as building upper body strength (chest, arms, shoulders, core).

For both the legs (working toward pistol for instance) and the OA push ups, I'd use Pavel's Naked Warrior progressions. IMO, they are a "must" in this respect.

Considering diet, there are plenty of "variables". Basically, to build muscle, you have to eat more and mostly figure out what works for you. Based on your diet, I'd eat more protein.

Concerning fat and carbs, I noticed good results doing as follows (assuming you do not have any other routine / sport):
- no training day: high fat low carb
- training day: high carb low fat

A "sweet spot" may be some sort of fasting (16/8 frame) to target those love handles:
- skip breakfast
- eating from 10am to 8pm

Carb refueling after the session. Throughout the day, plenty of water. Then a lot of good sleep

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Benvenuti first of all..

Have you considered reaching out to a strongfirst instructor in Italy??

I would suggest these things

Your program needs more lower body work and focusing on working up to one arm pushups and wall handstand pushups, the extra tension will help you build muscle

Ona surface level, your eating plan needs more protein
Thank you! Once a week at my basketball training we do lower body exercises such as bodyweight squats and lunges, in addiction to footwork exercises. Do you suggest to abandon the vest and work my way up to one arm push ups, maybe by doing archer push ups? Concluding, yes I should probably eat more proteins.
 
You could probably get the results you are looking for faster by buying two or three kettlebells and following the Simple and Sinister program. If you are committed to body weight work then I will second tge recommendation to get some expert instruction. In my experience it is easier to cheat in body weight exercises then with a kettlebell - for example, kipping on pukl ups. If you want to get results with that approach, you really need to make sure you are doing strict versions of the exercises.
Thank you for the advice, I'm trying to assume the best posture in every exercise but I will try to concentrate mrore on that
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
Welcome !

I would add some leg work, following the "never skip leg day" ;) Indeed, working on the leg (squat, DL) will increase growth hormone response, so you'll reap all the benefits.

You can also work toward one arm (or one arm one leg) push up. These moves are terrific as far as building upper body strength (chest, arms, shoulders, core).

For both the legs (working toward pistol for instance) and the OA push ups, I'd use Pavel's Naked Warrior progressions. IMO, they are a "must" in this respect.

Considering diet, there are plenty of "variables". Basically, to build muscle, you have to eat more and mostly figure out what works for you. Based on your diet, I'd eat more protein.

Concerning fat and carbs, I noticed good results doing as follows (assuming you do not have any other routine / sport):
- no training day: high fat low carb
- training day: high carb low fat

A "sweet spot" may be some sort of fasting (16/8 frame) to target those love handles:
- skip breakfast
- eating from 10am to 8pm

Carb refueling after the session. Throughout the day, plenty of water. Then a lot of good sleep

Kind regards,

Pet'

Concerning the lower body, once a week at my basketball training we do lower body exercises such as bodyweight squats and lunges, in addiction to footwork exercises. If you say so, when I do the ab workout I could put in some leg excersises.

I'm not familiar with Pavel's Naked Warrior progressions, but I'll look up, thank you!

Concerning the diet, yes I should probably eat more proteins, but it's not so simple :) The intermittent fasting you suggest is a nice idea and I have never tried it because if I had to choose a favorite meal, I'd choose breakfast ahah. Anyways, if I had to fast for 16 hours and eat between a time span of 8 hours, shouldn't I eat between 12 am and 8pm?

Thanks for your time.
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
The Naked Warrior is one of Pavel's masterpiece which mainly focuses on two moves: push ups and squats. Eventually, you perform repetitions of OA OL push ups and squats. It gives you the progressions to reach these goals.

Basically, it makes you performing your repetitions throughout the day, to avoid fatigue. The "rule" is to figure out our max rep of 1 exercice. Then, you perform multiple sets of half of this number during the day. So you get a lot of volume without fatigue. This is not an hypertrophy programme, but it provides great strength gains.

Progressions are really smooth. Plus, it teaches plenty of "tips" which are just crucial to maximize gains.

As far as diet is concerned, you got it right. 16/8 is one of the "easiest" to begin with because it does not impair (in general) with social activities. Most of the fasting benefits appears with 12 hours fast. 16h fast is a nice "compromise".

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Thank you! Once a week at my basketball training we do lower body exercises such as bodyweight squats and lunges, in addiction to footwork exercises. Do you suggest to abandon the vest and work my way up to one arm push ups, maybe by doing archer push ups? Concluding, yes I should probably eat more proteins.

Assolutamente.

And yes you need to eat a lot more if you want to improve body composition..

One thing I have noticed with most skinny fat people is they almost always have low protein intake
 
Assolutamente.

And yes you need to eat a lot more if you want to improve body composition..

One thing I have noticed with most skinny fat people is they almost always have low protein intake
Thank you, I'll try to abandon the vest and to eat more ;)
Bye
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
The Naked Warrior is one of Pavel's masterpiece which mainly focuses on two moves: push ups and squats. Eventually, you perform repetitions of OA OL push ups and squats. It gives you the progressions to reach these goals.

Basically, it makes you performing your repetitions throughout the day, to avoid fatigue. The "rule" is to figure out our max rep of 1 exercice. Then, you perform multiple sets of half of this number during the day. So you get a lot of volume without fatigue. This is not an hypertrophy programme, but it provides great strength gains.

Progressions are really smooth. Plus, it teaches plenty of "tips" which are just crucial to maximize gains.

As far as diet is concerned, you got it right. 16/8 is one of the "easiest" to begin with because it does not impair (in general) with social activities. Most of the fasting benefits appears with 12 hours fast. 16h fast is a nice "compromise".

Kind regards,

Pet'
Thank you for the tips ;)
 
I suggest that you make things simpler. Do dips, pull ups and hill sprints 3 times a week, eat good italian food and sleep like a boy. Higher frequency works better than splits usually.
 
Assolutamente.

And yes you need to eat a lot more if you want to improve body composition..

One thing I have noticed with most skinny fat people is they almost always have low protein intake
I think that protein/skinny fat-thing may be true. 2 years ago I prepped for the SFG and I had to lose weight from ~110 to 99kg(I'. I was skinny and looked like cancer patient or drug addict, but I was still bit soft. No visible abs or anything basically. I'm on diet again and bit stronger too so perhaps this time there is some muscle under the fat. Time will tell, but upping protein intake would be good idea for me all the time. I respond pretty well to strength work, but building muscle seems to be hard to do.
 
@Boyadeh, think like a strength athlete. Do powerlifts or do Simple & Sinister, and stop thinking about "chest, triceps, back" etc. Train all of you in everything you do in the weight room.

-S-
That would be ideal, but for different reasons I don't have the time and the money to attend a gym.
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
You can do something fairly straightforward, some kind of "Bodyweight Russian Bear":
multiple sets (10+) of 3 with
- pistols
- HSPU
- pull ups (weighted if possible)
[- optional: hanging leg raises]

You can do some kind of circuit to rest a muscle group while working on another.

It will cover the basics, will make you strong and you may bulk if eat in calorie surplus.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

@Boyadeh
You can do something fairly straightforward, some kind of "Bodyweight Russian Bear":
multiple sets (10+) of 3 with
- pistols
- HSPU
- pull ups (weighted if possible)
[- optional: hanging leg raises]

You can do some kind of circuit to rest a muscle group while working on another.

It will cover the basics, will make you strong and you may bulk if eat in calorie surplus.

Kind regards,

Pet'
Thank you :)
 
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