Ever hear of the term “skinny fat”? That’s someone that is thin, but with a high body fat. Like a distance runner or a sedentary person who doesn’t eat much or lift weights. They may look fine in clothes but are all flabby underneath; they have very little muscle. A lot of us want to lose weight and be “thin” but take heart–strong is the new “skinny”. . .
“Skinny fat” is not gender specific. I know both men and women that fall into this category but they often have different views on strength and exercise and how they approach it. Most men workout to get lean and muscular, the bigger the better; they are competitive and intense. They are progressive, push themselves hard and become more self confident.
Women usually start working out to look better and lose weight. They are often self conscious in the gym, afraid to pick up weights for fear of “getting big” and usually stick to cardio and colorful little dumbbells if they make it near the weight room at all. I am not knocking my gender–there are exceptions–this is merely the mindset of the majority.
Any male or female wanting to lose the “skinny fat” appearance, or body fat in general will need to build some muscle and lose fat. The shape of your body will be formed by adding muscle. Lowering the body fat translates to dropping dress and pants sizes and reducing problem areas such as butt, gut, thighs and arms. In order to get these results you must lift heavy weights–consistently, with intensity and volume and make progressions. Cardio and flexibility work are a definite part of the equation but it’s time to hit the gym or create one at home in your garage. When you enter the weight room, do so with the mindset of dominating it and accomplishing the look you want.
A special note to Ladies: do not be afraid of getting “big”. Most men have 10-16x the testosterone we do and unless you are taking anabolic steroids (and I seriously doubt most of you reading this blog are) it just ain’t gonna happen. Period. Lifting light weights for high reps will not give you the shape you want. If you want a flat stomach and defined muscles in your arms, shoulders, back and legs you need to pick up some weights.
Now that that’s resolved let me explain how and why you should train this way. First off, skip the machines–we are going to use heavy free weights, low reps and do “manly” exercises like the squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, dips and pull ups. These have all been covered in earlier blogs (category: fitness).
Another question for the Ladies: has it ever seemed to you that men get fitter faster than women? To those of you that answered yes, the why of it goes back to what I stated in the beginning. Men tend to approach their workout with motivation, hitting it hard, consistently and seeking progressions from workout to workout. This covers three very important basic principles to getting results, quicker.
- Intensity: how hard you perform the workout
- Volume & Frequency: how much and how often
- Progression: increasing demands from workout to workout
This approach works for both genders in transforming their bodies. Men will build much more muscle, increasing their legs, arms, chest and back while reducing body fat (provided nutrition is in check) while women will develop the ultimate “curve appeal” or a tight, firm body. They will lift the butt, reduce the thighs, slim the waist and define the arms (provided nutrition is in check). Gone away is the “skinny fat” look.
Stick to the exercises mentioned above and give this Basic Program a try for 12 weeks:
- Include a thorough warm up
- Establish basic technique in the exercises first.
- Start light, you will progress each workout and do not want to stall too soon
- Train 3 days a week, allow for recovery in between. Try a M/W/F or Tu/Th/Sat ; 2 days a week will also work–progress will be slower
Workout 1: Squat 5 x 5, Bench 5 x 5, BO Row 3 x 5, dips 3 x 5 or push ups 3 x failure
Workout 2: Squat 5 x 5, Military or OH Press 5 x 5, deadlift 3 x 5, pull ups 3 x failure
Alternate these workouts each time you train. The 5 x 5 or 3 x 5 simply means 5 (or 3) sets of 5 reps. Rest as needed between (1 to 5 mins. depending on difficulty). Add weight (approximately 5 lbs or less) to each lift each workout until you stall. When that happens, attempt the weight two more times, then lighten it up 10-15% and build back up. To maximize your results include metabolic conditioning (aka cardio) 2-3 days a week and continue to work on your mobility. You may do this immediately after or on separate days.
Ladies and Gentlemen we have developed a game plan, time to get to it because Strong is the new “skinny”!
Paula Jager CSCS and Level 1 CrossFit and CF Nutrition Certified is the owner of CrossFit Jaguar.
Her exercise and nutrition programs yield life changing results
I think this is a great post, however it should be noted that women need about a minimum of 18% body fat to protect their fertility! It is important to be cautious that our body fat does not get too low! Trust me, I am speaking from experience and am now dealing with the detrimental effects of hypothalamic amenorrhea :S Be careful ladies!
Excellent article Paula, I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is as a personal trainer to have women tell me they don’t want to squat or deadlift because it will make them “big and bulky”. I would recommend to any woman looking to get in “real” shape to read the book “New Rules of Lifting for Women” by Lou Schuler. You can pick it up at Amazon.com for under $15 and it will shed a whole new light on why exactly you should be picking up heavy weights.
Paula: Thanks for the response. What you said makes more sense now. 🙂
This is a most excellent post! I am so happy to see other people writing about this!
Sara: many distance runners (mostly elite) do indeed have low levels of bodyfat and are to be greatly admired for their achievements. The best long distance runners do include a periodized strength training program in their competitive cycle, that’s part of the reason they are the best. Although it is not my sport of choice I make no judgements on it and did not mean all distance runners were skinny fat but many are (especially amateurs) and that also includes triathletes. Check out a local race and you will see what I am referring to. If one spends the preponderance of their training in a strictly aerobic zone of long duration and no time on strength they will be somewhat skinny fat. Certainly not to the degree of a couch potato or completely sedentary person.
As far as models go, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Ballet dancers are an excellent example of a graceful and lean athlete. One must not be large and bulky to be considered fit. There are many differnet styles of “fit”.
Food Hound: too funny. Paleo can work, I do about 85% of the time and allow 15% of the time for “indulgences” because life is too short to not eat cheesecake–homemade of quality ingredients tho:)
JoAna: Let’s take squats for example; say you start at 100 lbs, each time you squat you add 5 pounds and you are successful. After 4 weeks of squatting 2x a week you are at 135 lbs and you are not able to squat it for the desired number of reps. You try that same weight again at your next workout and if you are unable to complete try again at the next workout for the 3rd time at that weight. If you still can’t complete the reps on the 3rd try take the weight down about 15% to 115 lbs on your next workout, and then repeat the process of adding 5 lbs each workout (building back up) until you stall again.
I love it!
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Can you please explain this with an example? Thanks.
“Add weight (approximately 5 lbs or less) to each lift each workout until you stall. When that happens, attempt the weight two more times, then lighten it up 10-15% and build back up.”
I am addicted to CrossFit!!! I thought all CrossFitters were sick and obsessed when I started, and now I am totally one of them. I work out less, and I’m stronger and leaner than ever. LOVE IT! We also have great coaches– I have learned that not all CrossFits are created equal! I can’t get into the Paleo diet– I think there are some healthy principles, but life is too short to not eat baguette 🙂
While it may be true that long distance runners don’t have a lot of defined muscle, it doesn’t mean they have a high body fat percentage. I believe in fact that long distance runners are on the low end of body fat percentages in athletes. Another similar example would be professional classical ballet dancers. They are trained to be long and lean and have some of the lowest body fat percentages around, yet they have very strong and well tuned muscles. I would say that models would be a better example of skinny fat, because they don’t often have muscles do go with their skinny-ness.
You can’t have low body fat percentage and be skinny fat. They are opposites. Skinny fat would be when you look skinny, but have a relatively high body fat percentage because you have pretty much no muscle at all. To me that describes many in the modeling industry (they’re not athletes so they don’t need the muscle). We still may like to look at them because they are portrayed beautifully, and sometimes fat softens lines and the hard contrast between any extra skin and muscle that athletes might have.
We may not like how long distance runners look, but they are not skinny fat, nor do they have high body fat percentages!
Here is a link to an article that includes information about body fat percentage in long distance runners. I think the paragraph about body fat percentage is (depending on how you count) the 10th paragraph down:
Pictures of long distance runners:
http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/selassie-haile-gebre-1973
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/05/142_29808.html
http://www.123rf.com/photo_5376174_legs-and-shoes-of-a-long-distance-runner-on-an-oval-track.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6149952&page=3
Pictures of a ballet dancers:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3627229782_9032144825.jpg
http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1672R-19004
http://www.nycballet.com/company/rep.html?rep=39
Pictures of models:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/13/1157826986045.html
http://models.com/feed/?p=594
It should be noted, that I don’t have anything against weightlifting, and I think people with larger muscles and low body fat percentage are attractive. I just wanted to clear up the idea that long distance runners, or other lean athletes without large muscles, were somehow fat or associated with those who are sedentary. Strong, large muscled bodies are one desirable goal, but not the only type of acceptably fit person or athlete :-).