abdominal fat over hard muscle

J

JoanaT

0
I have been searching for a place where I can put my questions about my problem. So I am new to the forum and I am hopping someone here can help.
I am an martial artist, not for competition but for my own improvement. I still would like to be in my best shape. I am 29 years old, with 1,62 cm, 56 kg and only 16% of body fat. Because I practice martial arts regulary my muscles are quite hard, specially my abdominal region, except my lower area. I have a back problem, and I can't do most exercices that envolve training that area. They hurt my back before doing anything on my lower abdominal. I have 4 practices every week, 1hour and 15 minutes per day, and I try to walk/run on the other days, and I do some muscle reinforcement. I am a small thin girl, but I still have a lot of abdominal fat that I can't lose. My waist is 76 cm, and I have something like 2 cm of fatness above my abs.
Because my abs are very hard, this fat that is above it is pushed out and makes it look that I have more that it actually is. And it looks very bad :(
My nutrition is not pefect but I do have carefull with it. I am even trying the CLA suplements for one month now, but I don't see any diference.

Can anyone help me, or give me some tip on how to lose this abdominal fat?
(Sorry for any bad english, it is not my first language)

Joana
 
You can not spot reduce! Your body is programmed to store fat in certain places and those are the first places fat goes and the last places it disappears from when you reduce. 16% body fat is pretty low for a female (if you measured it accurately), but you may be able to get down to 12% without any adverse side effects. If a female reduces her body fat too low it can disrupt her menstrual cycle, resulting in hormone imbalances which can cause loss of lean body mass and/or loss of bone density.
Martial arts are great all round exercise programs, but, as I have mostly seen them practiced, emphasize cardiovascular and not resistance training. I would recommend some resistance training (weightlifting) on your off days. Twice a week should be enough given your other activities. Check out the stickies in the weightlifting section for some beginning programs.
 
Thanks.
We train really hard but only using our own body, never weightlifting.
I am gonna look for that training you mentioned, and see what I can adapt to my self.

My percentage in body fat is quite low yes, that is why I am a litle worried. I don't want to loose a lot more of it, but I really hate having this extra cm of fat on this area. It almost seem I am pregnant, because it is only on that area.. bad genetics there.

I will get back in a few weeks to tell you how it worked :)
 
Back problems are actually often caused by having a weak core, which is antagonistic to the back. Light core exercises within your capacity are a very good idea in order to build up the strength to sufficiently support yourself.
 
I do have a hard core..specially the first half. That is one of my problems..it is so hard, that the abdominal fat can't blend in :((((
I am doing the training with weights but I am not getting results.
For some reason I am a "false fat". I don't really know how to call it. I still have a very low percentage of fat, but I have a lot of abdominal fat. I have lost weight, but on my butt. I had to change my pants, but my legs (upper muscle) are larger in muscle and my butt is smaller. My abdominal is the same or larger. I have something like 79cm on the abdominal area.
I am not understanding what I am doing wrong. But it is very strange, because when I work out I don't see a lot of fat, but when I see some pictures, I just get confused.
View attachment 5642
and this second picture out
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I am doing 10 minutes of intense exercices, like burpees, squats, boards...all combined with other moviments, without resitng for those ten minutes. Some of this exercices I use weights. And then I do specific work of my martial art with weights on my legs. I had to stop running because My back were getting worst.

Can anyone help?
 

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JoanaT said:
I do have a hard core..specially the first half. That is one of my problems..it is so hard, that the abdominal fat can't blend in :((((
I am doing the training with weights but I am not getting results.
For some reason I am a "false fat". I don't really know how to call it. I still have a very low percentage of fat, but I have a lot of abdominal fat. I have lost weight, but on my butt. I had to change my pants, but my legs (upper muscle) are larger in muscle and my butt is smaller. My abdominal is the same or larger. I have something like 79cm on the abdominal area.
I am not understanding what I am doing wrong. But it is very strange, because when I work out I don't see a lot of fat, but when I see some pictures, I just get confused.
View attachment 5642
and this second picture out
View attachment 5641

I am doing 10 minutes of intense exercices, like burpees, squats, boards...all combined with other moviments, without resitng for those ten minutes. Some of this exercices I use weights. And then I do specific work of my martial art with weights on my legs. I had to stop running because My back were getting worst.

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...

Like Jrahien said, work on your work. Start small. Example supine hold holds, swiss ball crunches, squats are great for the core too. Then move up to things such as prone holds on your knees then toes, russian twists, V-holds etc etc.

If your belly fat isn't budging, your diet is bad.
 
JoanaT,
There's a saying in the fitness industry "abs are made in the kitchen not the gym" (or in your case kwoon or dojo lol). I have never figured out how to follow posts here otherwise I would ask that you submit a sample of your diet (I will probably miss your response). So here something that might help without looking at number of calories, fat, and so on (in my profession, this one fix is usually all that is necessary for most people).
Eat to control your blood sugar.
When your blood sugar rises quickly it signals the release of insulin whose job it is to clean up that excess sugar and it stores it for energy later...as fat. Here are a few simple to apply rules:
1) Eat 4-6 MEALS per day. (Meals mean the major food groups proportioned)
If you go long periods without eating, not only will you tend to eat too much later, quite often you will choose things you shouldn't AND even if you eat good stuff your blood sugar is going to rise fast.
2) Choose carbs (rice, bread, pasta etc) that contains 3g fiber or more per serving. Lower fiber sources will again cause a blood sugar spike.
3) Drink ONLY water (almost can't get enough), 100% fruit juice. Plain coffee/tea are "okay". Beer Belly's, sport drink bellys, on otherwise skinny people are from this blood glucose rise. If you must have a beer, wine, soda, or really any other taboo food (we all do don't we?) it will help to have them with meals, especially protein foods.

That should help. If you want to learn more about this visit the University of Sydney's page

Good luck!
 
Thanks for your reply HyungJun. Unfortunatly I have a litle problem with most exercices. All that has to do with core suport (or holding a position with the core and back) kills me. My back and hip I mean. So I gave been trying to find the one's that don't hurt me. Those exercíces make me exausted but they don't do anything the day after. No musculer pain at all. :(( I miss that pain. But I don't know the exercices you mentioned so I am gonna search them up and see if I can do them. I get very excited when I am doing new things :))))

Thanks for the tips on the diet fitxpress :)
Actually I am a girl that drinks no coffe, no beer, wine or soda. I just drink water, juice and tea (grean tea and cinamon is my favorite). So the drinks is not a problem.
On the eating matter I have no idea, I do believe it is ok. I have no problem mentioning that to you :)
I have breakfast at 5:30am with a small cup of fiber cereals and milk. A second breakfast at 10 with bread, tea and some fruit (I have a job that requeries something that gives me energie). Lunch at 13 pm with regular carbs and proteins and salad.
Again at 15 with iogurt and 17h with bread and milk. And dinner at 20:00pm with mostly soup and just a litle amount of rice/pasta/potatos with some protein (yes, mostly meat). But is less than half than what I eat at 13h).
Ok, I admit, some times I do eat desert. No always, just sometimes, like once or twice a week. Do you think Just by doing that I am losing my goal?
 
JoanaT said:
Thanks for your reply HyungJun. Unfortunatly I have a litle problem with most exercices. All that has to do with core suport (or holding a position with the core and back) kills me. My back and hip I mean. So I gave been trying to find the one's that don't hurt me. Those exercíces make me exausted but they don't do anything the day after. No musculer pain at all. :(( I miss that pain. But I don't know the exercices you mentioned so I am gonna search them up and see if I can do them. I get very excited when I am doing new things :))))
Click to expand...

Core exercises hurt your hips and back? Have you received injuries there before? If not, then you're likely lacking muscle balance in your core and should be trying to find the right exercises to strengthen it no matter what.
 
Your diet looks pretty good and especially with timing--that's where many people fail. I would though, move that morning snack closer to breakfast if possible. You want to eat every 2.5 - 3 hours. Before resorting to reducing food intake and the dreaded counting of calories, you list bread, "regular" carbs, potatoes, and pasta. Make sure they have 3g fiber or more for the bread, pasta, and rice. I am not sure where you live but where I do, companies try to slip less nutritious foods by us using tricky labels and words. Whole wheat is a big one and I even picked up a loaf of bread that said 100% whole wheat and yet had less than 2g fiber per serving. So read your labels to be sure! Potatoes are fine as long as you also eat the skin.
Once you check these things out and give it time take effect, I like to advise my clients to "take a deep breath" because people love to take drastic measures. After your big breath, before counting calories and taking things you like from your diet, nip at it a little at a time. Start with things you won't miss too much like condiments, excess cheese, etc and then reduce proportions. This way you don't feel cheated or deprived.
By the way, you have a body many women would envy!
 
Yes Jrahien. I have a back problem. Or better said a hip problem. It gets out of place very easly, so I have to be carefull with what I do. And that means pain in my lower back when I do exercices that forces me to stay on a position that requires a lot of control by the core, like push ups or board position. But I also lost a lot of back muscle. I am slowly getting it back in shape, but the problem is always there.

Thanks for the advices fitxpress. I do have those products in my country, but they are very expensive. But I am gonna start to look at labels and seek those with more fiber.
I don't dislike my body, but as an athlete I would like to get in shape. I had a problem in my weight. In one year I gain 3kg and in one month I lost 6kg. For me is very hard to loose or gain weight. With the exception of that period, I don't change my weight in more than 15 years. After that my belly was no longer the same. And now that I am back in training I would like to be back in shape. But now I seem to be getting positive results in some areas and negative in others. I wanted to loose my abdominal fat, but I gained some more along with leg muscle. It is strange for me. That is why I am asking for help.
 
Any form of intense exercise is not acceptable to you since you have back problem. But there are always alternative ways to cut the extra fat in abs zone. I would like to show you some alternative ways to lose your weight:

• If you want to work late at night, think again. Losing sleep can also alter your hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause insulin sensitivity, prime reasons for belly fat! Getting about 7 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your body shaping goals.

• Try planking, where you hold yourself in a push-up position, resting your forearms on the ground. Try 3 or 4 sets of holding for 30 seconds each. Getting up and moving throughout the day by going for walks will also help.

• If you have a sugar craving, replace your calorie laden latte with a Muscle Milk lite, one of my favorites, because it has zero sugar and a ton of protein that will satiate while also torching your sugar craving! Another great trick is a sprinkle of cinnamon in your morning coffee or oatmeal- the spice has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar. It also slows the rate at which food exits the stomach, which helps you feel fuller longer.

• Try to eat fruit that contain lots of vitamin c. You may Try bell peppers, kale or kiwi fruits. These have even more Vitamin C than the famous Orange!

• Eat fat! Yup, you heard me! It takes fat to burn fat. Like I said above, it’s sugar that gets you fat, not fat. Good fats include foods rich in Omega 3′s, like salmon, avocados & walnuts. These foods are full of nutrients that help keep you satiated throughout the day.

This is very simple but very effective alternative methods to cut extra fat in your body.
 
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