train hard but seem to be getting a chubby stomach??

W

wade88

0
Hi guys,

looking for advice or just a bit of light shed on the matter. i train hard at the gym, going about 3-4 times per week. mainly focus on upper body and drink a lot of protein shakes etc. diet is average but i do work hard.

put on some good muscle and inflated in size but seem to have gotten chubby around my gut? its really irritating me and am hoping someone might be able to tell me why this is the case when i am very slim anyway and have NEVER really put on fat weight?

Any suggestions very welcome :)
 
if you're getting fat, you're eating too much. its that simple. calories in vs. calories expended. your calories in are too great.

and why the hell aren't you working your legs? nothing looks dumber than a guy with a decent upper body and two little toothpick legs.
Not to mention the quadriceps (thigh muscles) are the largest muscle group in the body, and the hamstrings aren't little either.

and lack of leg work (squats and deadlifts) likely means your posterior chain (hips, glutes, lower back) is weak...opening you up to a life altering injury.

either train the whole body, or don't bother.
 
Thanks for the reply,

Thats the thing though, i really dont eat badly, hence the confusion. however, i have been told this about the leg training. i do intend to start to train the legs again, but since a severe knee injury a few years ago i have been reluctant and somewhat timid to get back into it. you seem to know your stuff, i read a reply you gave to another chap about his weight so what sort of fat burning programme can you recommend at the gym?

Ben
 
a knee injury is no joke. I had one (never diagnosed, but I eff'd something up) years ago and it still haunts me to this day...including last night.

Even if you cannot go heavy, at least do what you can.

post your daily diet, including foods eaten, quantity, and how much. if you have your macros per meal, include them as well.

you'll probably just need to religously track your food intake on fitday.com (or similar utility) to really get a feel for how much you're eating.

many people are surprised at what a 'portion' really is. for example most servings of pasta when you dine out are at least 2-2.5 'servings' of pasta. and those serving sizes then skew how we load up our own plates at home.

a kitchen scale is an invaluable tool. good digital ones can be had for $30 and will last many many years. some measureing spoons and cups will round out your food tracking needs.

once you know how much food = what calories and macros, you'll rarely need to track stuff on fitday. you'll have re-educated yourself at that point and will only need to track when you have problems or are changing up diets (cutting/bulking, etc).
 
I am someone who had had 4 right knee surgeries, and as a result have no cartilage in that knee.... so I know about knee injuries.

For my legs, I don't squat. My surgeon years ago told me that I shouldn't do it, so I don't. I do tons of leg extensions - which are a mass building exercise to begin with. I also do leg presses once in a while. My legs aren't small, but they're not big either. I also do a lot of leg curls for my hams.

As far as gaining size in your gut... simple solution that you may not be aware of... don't eat big quantities of food at once... you should be eating 6 times a day, small sized meals. Doing that will speed up your metabolism and help you burn unwanted fat. I cut down to 175 while eating more than I had ever eaten per day, coupled with the advice below. I was also the strongest I've been.

Reduce your carbs on training days to force your body to burn off excess fat/energy while you train. Carb up on days that you're not training... but not too much.

Food for thought.
 
Thanks guys thats a lot of help,

My problem is that im sure many other people have is making time to remember and to have the time to ensure this can all be done. not to bother you too much, but could you recommend a good daily diet to stick to thats easy to maintain for training days and non days, i weigh about 13.5 stone, and am in good shape, my only concern is this small amount of flab on my gut growing, and its literally appeared out of no where so its worried me. can too much protein been turned to fat if not used?

i have never really known what to eat and whats good to eat and when etc. would really appreciated some quick advice on those areas. i always read mags saying eat this do that blah blah but its kinda unrealistic not to mention expensive!

Thanks again

Ben
 
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