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Time for change or patience?

B

BonVoyage

New member
Hello ladies,
I've been working out for 4 years now. I began after the freshman 15 (more like 25 in my case :mad:) really got on my nerves and I decided to improve my health. I was 64kg, with a bodyfat of around 30%.
Over the next 1,5 years, I lost the weight that I had gained. Now I'm 49kg, 155cm tall. Tape measurement (Navy bodyfat calculator) gave me a 21% bodyfat. I know it's not 100% accurate, just to give you an idea.
The thing is: I'd really love to see my abs. At least the upper ones would be awesome. However, I think I'm already pretty slim, and I don't want to end up really skinny and bony - that's not the look I'm going for.
To achieve that goal - do you think I should bulk up first, try to add as much muscle as I can, and then lean out again? Or should I go on a slow, mild cut to reduce my bf? Cuz, at 21% bf, no one can expect to see their abs, right?
I changed my workout only recently from bodyweight exercises only to a mixture of weights and bwe. I do:
squats with dumbbells (soon with a barbell)
one-legged hip raise
reverse bodyweight row
push-ups
hanging leg raise
side v-up
lateral raise
biceps curls
triceps kickback
I eat around 1550 kcal per day, on training days I eat 1750.
Thank you very much for your input on this!
 
Hello!
I started seeing my top 2 Ab's at 20.5% measured by Dexa scan. In saying that, I held alot of my fat on my back, butt and thighs. Unfortunately as women, we will still have fatty areas even at 18-20% as opposed to even distribution across the body, this stops us from seeing muscle definition in alot of places until low body fat.

If I were you, and to avoid being a "skinny female", lean bulk would be your best option. Get a proper caliper test done. If you are petit, even 3-5kgs of mass would make a difference, and you are still entitled for newbie gains as you said you did body weight work only?
Add in a strength training program and get retested by calipers every three months until you have reached your Lean Mass target.

I'm guessing if you are 49kgs @21% bf you can pack a fair bit of muscle on that body of yours.

Not a fan of your workout program.
 
Hello Deep,
thank you for your answer.
for my workout program, I followed a template on exrx.net, but it hasn't yielded the results that I want. When you suggest a strength program, do you mean somethine like starting strength by rippetoe? Or a 5x5 program like stronglifts? Thanks. How do I know how much lean mass I can expect to put on? Is there a formula for calculating this?
 
There is no formula but at 49kgs I would imagine 5kgs would be a long term target? Small goals at first, being thin and building muscle you will see changes taking place.

I personally don't recommend specific weight programs as I train specifically for strength, I know a few ladies from another forum are doing a 5x5 to cover all the Compound lifts (which are great for women to build muscle!)

If I could have my days again, I'd start with PTC beginners or Starting Strength before I started focusing on isolating "lagging areas".
 
First of all, guy here...

Abs is pretty crazy thin, I've done it, I was in a similar situation to you where I lost a tonne of weight and abs was my goal. It's mainly about diet and not your workout, though I think walking helps a lot. I did no cardio, just walking, dieting and some compound exercises (push ups, chin ups, press, rows).

I'm 6'4 and I started at 140kg. I thought I'd see them at 100kg, which took 8 months. Didn't happen, but I was close - I thought 95kg would do it.... then 90kg... then 87.5kg.. finally 'surfaced' at 85kg and I was really really thin, to the point where people were worried about my health. It just takes time and you will see them eventually, probably at a weight you didnt think you could ever reach.
 
I think nice defined legs and shoulders with a flat tummy, wins over Ab's any day.
Ab's are the pinnacle of fitness and good dieting but if you don't live at the beach are they really the best goal to have?
 
You're right, no beach in sight here - I live in Germany, and most of the time it's too cold to go to a lake for a swim anyway. You get that opportunity maybe twice or so per year :( So the visible abs would be solely for myself to marvel at.

But as Joe pointed out, you need to have really very low bodyfat to see your abs. When it comes down to it, I'd probably have to go into the 45kgs or so weight range to see them - and I'm so not doing that. I mean, starving myself into being underweight just to see my abs is more than a tad unhealthy. After all, I want to get stronger and not tinier and tinier.

I've decided to completely change my workout and do the following exercises:
Squat, bench press, deadlift, bent row, military press and bb curls. Over the next months, I'll gradually increase the weight. And I'll eat above maintenance so I can put some muscle on. This in itself will, if I'm not all wrong, lead to a positive shift in my body composition and my looks.

Thank you! :)
 
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