[Lakerat_sr11]

:madman: :madman: :madman:

Okay, so here's my individual situation.

I am 6'2'' and weigh around 140. I am significantly active, I bike daily and practice competitive water-skiing (slalom, trick, and jump) about every other, or every third day. I start weight training tomorrow.

Goal: decrease body fat in-between muscles (abs) to increase muscle definition. I don't want to become bulky or much bigger/heavier. I just want my muscle size to be more efficient to my body size.

I have read a couple articles that say nutrition is key to gaining muscle definition. but most of them talk about losing weight; which I don't want. I want to be stronger, but not bigger.

I am looking for guidance on what kind of diet I should be looking at. What kind of calorie/fats/protien/whatever else intake do I need to have to decrease stubborn body fat while increasing muscle definition.

If anybody can help, it would be greatly appreciated!! ...or tell me to go to a bodybuilding website or something, lol.

 

[Some Guy]

or tell me to go to a bodybuilding website or something, lol.

You're probably going to get more info there, as cycling fitness generally doesn't result in good muscle definition. Just look at this guy!

That said, I've found pilates to be good for my ab definition. It's also aids MTB fitness, so you get the looks and the goods .

 

[primoz]

If you consider fitness as perfect body shape, then yes it's true. Most of bodybuilders have shape of their muscles mostly because of proper nutrition (not so much of real food but of powders etc.). But those muscles are pretty much "empty" without much of power, but nevertheless they have perfect shape.
On the other side, muscles shape also, or better to say mostly, depends on sport you are doing. Weight lifting gives you different type and shape of muscles as marathon running, xc skiing or cycling (road or mtb). So if you are into getting stronger on bike, you can forget about perfectly shaped body. And at least personally, I'm happy with that, but people are different, and some are not.
Unfortunately you can't have everything, so you have to decide what you want to do. With endurance sport, muscles are never extremely shaped and bulgy, but rather long and without "proper" shape. But no matter what, even with this, less fat between the muscles, gives extra shape to them.

 

[akashra]

I'd agree with that. Leading up to about 6 weeks ago I was making a massive improvement, which was mostly due to nutrition. But in the last 6 weeks I'd been eating utter crap, and I'm starting to go backwards, despite training better.

 

[Cayenne_Pepa]

A great question, OP. True fitness is having a super-low resting heart rate(between 40-65BPM), having 3-8% bodyfat, and a well-defined musculature. Fortunately, mountain biking can acheive all this, in a relatively short time. Having all of the three aforementioned qualities makes for a seriously conditioned athlete, who can very well compete at a world-class, professional level, with dedicated training.

If you really want a six-pack of abdominals, you are gonna have to create a major calorie deficit(burn more than you eat), consistently. Secondly, the overall QUALITY of what you eat- makes a huge difference too. As many fitness models say:

"A lean physique is made in the kitchen- not the gym"

You gotta eat clean(fruit, nuts, veggies, salads, lean protein, etc) for months in order to get a shrink-wrap, fat-free body. It works too. By eating clean consistently- fat will literally strip itself from you by the grams, daily.

For the past 24 years- I have lived with a stubborn layer of ab fat. Last year, I finally decided to get rid of it.....permanently. Fast forward nine months later- I have lost 50lbs, and my abdominal definition is getting tighter by the week. Dont expect miracles. Fat loss is a frustratingly long, process. Trust me- it is worth it. The women notice it immediately. I went from having no neck, a double chin, and a beer gut......to a chiseled jawline, high cheekbones, and stomach ripples....just by eating clean(and logging 75-100 miles/week on my 19lb hardtail mtb)....

To answer your big question- YES, nutrition plays a major role. Ask Brad Pitt, Mark Wahlberg, Matt McConaughey and Hugh Jackman- they will all say their food choices resulted in their trademark looks. There are three things in life NEVER to scrimp on:

1) Your Family
2) Your Toys
3) Your Health(diet)

Hope this helped.....

 

[BruceBrown]

:madman: :madman: :madman:

Okay, so here's my individual situation.

I am 6'2'' and weigh around 140. I am significantly active, I bike daily and practice competitive water-skiing (slalom, trick, and jump) about every other, or every third day. I start weight training tomorrow.

Goal: decrease body fat in-between muscles (abs) to increase muscle definition. I don't want to become bulky or much bigger/heavier. I just want my muscle size to be more efficient to my body size.

I have read a couple articles that say nutrition is key to gaining muscle definition. but most of them talk about losing weight; which I don't want. I want to be stronger, but not bigger.

I am looking for guidance on what kind of diet I should be looking at. What kind of calorie/fats/protien/whatever else intake do I need to have to decrease stubborn body fat while increasing muscle definition.

If anybody can help, it would be greatly appreciated!! ...or tell me to go to a bodybuilding website or something, lol.

Whoa - you've got to throw up a picture of yourself at 6'2", 140 lbs and complaining of "stubborn body fat". Something does not sound right in that equation. I'm 6'3" and 177 and can remember my youth days of being 160 - 165. I cannot imagine being 140 lbs and finding any "stubborn body fat" on a 6'2" or 6'3" frame. Skeletons don't have stubborn body fat.

Sounds like a general all around weight lifting program will bump up your metabolism to burn any of the stubborn body fat you claim to have and tone up everything. The muscle definition will follow suit, but it doesn't happen overnight. You need to go through a nice adaptation phase with low weights to get your body "ready" for weight lifting and slowly progress after your body has been prepped.

Gotta see a before and after photo to believe it....

 

[duke of kent]

Fitness, really, is your ability to recover quickly.

The best professional cyclists are the guys who not only produce massive power, but can repeat that effort with a very short recovery period.

Being able to see your ab muscles has nothing to do with fitness. Plenty of body builders are incredibly out of shape, yet you can see their abdominal muscles very well. Sure, they might have low body fat, but their ability to do anything other than lift weights for 30 seconds and flex is very limited.

And, remember: it's impossible to specifically target a muscle to improve definition. You can do all the sit-ups you want, but that will only make the muscles larger; you have to decrease the amount of fat in your body to increase muscle definition. And the body does not have the ability to select where it removes fat; it just burns fat off the total system.

 

[Pabs]

I'm confused: do you want to have cycling fitness or look good naked? There's some overlap, but the two are distinct.

 

[smallstream]

yea 6'2" and 140, that doesnt sound like its possible to have much or any body fat, Im 5'9 and probably 15-20 pounds heavier than you and going down to 140 would probably make me look kind of gaunt. you must have a lightning fast metabolism

 

[sprocketjockey9]

:madman: :madman: :madman:

Okay, so here's my individual situation.

I am 6'2'' and weigh around 140. I am significantly active, I bike daily and practice competitive water-skiing (slalom, trick, and jump) about every other, or every third day. I start weight training tomorrow.

Goal: decrease body fat in-between muscles (abs) to increase muscle definition. I don't want to become bulky or much bigger/heavier. I just want my muscle size to be more efficient to my body size.

I have read a couple articles that say nutrition is key to gaining muscle definition. but most of them talk about losing weight; which I don't want. I want to be stronger, but not bigger.

I am looking for guidance on what kind of diet I should be looking at. What kind of calorie/fats/protien/whatever else intake do I need to have to decrease stubborn body fat while increasing muscle definition.

If anybody can help, it would be greatly appreciated!! ...or tell me to go to a bodybuilding website or something, lol.

That's equivalent to a BMI of 17.97, which according to that scale is underweight, but even in the cycling world you're on the lower end.

Once you start packing muscle, you're going to add weight. There is a certain trade-off where you have to balance. What is it that you want to be stronger at, Cycling or stronger overall?

I personally wouldn't suggest looking to lose weight at this point, you're thin. I'd look to implement better and more productive training to reach your goal. Whether it be cycling based or in general stronger overall.

 

[vans380]

6'2 and 140 pounds? Holy cow! Where could you possibly have substantial fat?

And here I thought I was skinny at 6'2 165 lbs...

 

[Lakerat_sr11]

Thanks so much!!

Wow, Thanks a bunch. This is giving me a bunch of different options on what I need to think about. :thumbsup:

Okay, I have been told all my life that I am underweight, but your can take my word for it that I eat all the time. Something I forgot to mention earlier was that I just turned 20, so I am still pretty young. My definition for stubborn fat is probably different than some of yalls, I am talking about getting rid of the fat in-between the Major muscles, I don't have much fat actually on top of the muscles. I am not claiming to be fat by any means.

As far as what kind of fitness I am looking for... I am looking for efficient muscles. I don't want to lose weight. I want to lose fat and displace that lost weight with muscle; if I gain some weight by means of added muscle, that is okay too, I just don't want to become bulky. I understand that most body builder's muscles are 'empty' so to speak. I am not wanting to have that. Lets say ideally, I would weigh 160, I would want as close to 160 pounds to be muscle (of course in addition to bones, guts, normal internal organs) but not fat. I suppose the best example I could go for would be someone who fights MMA. They have defined muscles, but I guarantee that they are not empty.

Cycling is my second hobby, I use cycling as a getaway and just for random fun. I also commute to and from school.

My first sport water-skiing. I compete on the collegiate level of 3-event style waterskiing, (slalom, trick, and jump) These require an immense amount of strength, a moderate level of muscle endurance, and a low level of lung endurance. I am wanting a good power/weight ratio. Any sitting weight (fat) I have on me, is simply slowing me down.

When you say lean protein, what is that and what foods contain it? And also, When on the Nutritional Facts sticker on food says the different kinds of fats, which ones do I need to stay away from. (All of them I'm assuming) I know very little about the nutritional facts, so any info there is great.

And to show that I don't look like an Ethiopian, here is what I look like now.

 

[oscarc]

Wow, Thanks a bunch. This is giving me a bunch of different options on what I need to think about. :thumbsup:

Okay, I have been told all my life that I am underweight, but your can take my word for it that I eat all the time. Something I forgot to mention earlier was that I just turned 20, so I am still pretty young. My definition for stubborn fat is probably different than some of yalls, I am talking about getting rid of the fat in-between the Major muscles, I don't have much fat actually on top of the muscles. I am not claiming to be fat by any means.

As far as what kind of fitness I am looking for... I am looking for efficient muscles. I don't want to lose weight. I want to lose fat and displace that lost weight with muscle; if I gain some weight by means of added muscle, that is okay too, I just don't want to become bulky. I understand that most body builder's muscles are 'empty' so to speak. I am not wanting to have that. Lets say ideally, I would weigh 160, I would want as close to 160 pounds to be muscle (of course in addition to bones, guts, normal internal organs) but not fat. I suppose the best example I could go for would be someone who fights MMA. They have defined muscles, but I guarantee that they are not empty.

Cycling is my second hobby, I use cycling as a getaway and just for random fun. I also commute to and from school.

My first sport water-skiing. I compete on the collegiate level of 3-event style waterskiing, (slalom, trick, and jump) These require an immense amount of strength, a moderate level of muscle endurance, and a low level of lung endurance. I am wanting a good power/weight ratio. Any sitting weight (fat) I have on me, is simply slowing me down.

When you say lean protein, what is that and what foods contain it? And also, When on the Nutritional Facts sticker on food says the different kinds of fats, which ones do I need to stay away from. (All of them I'm assuming) I know very little about the nutritional facts, so any info there is great.

And to show that I don't look like an Ethiopian, here is what I look like now.

Seeing the pictures of your physique helps. I used to body build and grew up around it too, natural and unatural. From what it seems to me you are trying to do is build more structer on your skeleton than lose weight. Fat cannot be really spot reduced. Fat loss occurs over the entire body, ie. feet legs stomach, arms, face, etc...I think to achieve the appearance you are looking for, you need to gain muscle mass through out your entire body. This will create rounder, fuller primary muscles that will give the appearance of less fat content inbetween the main strands such as deltoids, quads, etc. The typical work out type is a regiment of 15-25 reps of the usual weight lifting excercises, not the 6-10 repition lifts required for max strength and bodybuilding. Diet is the other portion to this. You need to consume larger amounts of protein to help your body recover and build that muscle. Remember about 1/2 of the protein consumed actually really gets used for this process. The other 1/2 is lost just in the breakdown process. That is why bodybuilders consume massive amounts of protein, lots of chicken, eggs, lean meats, powders, etc.

It's really hard to explain this whole process here in just a few pharagraph's because there is alot more to this than just the jist of what I've written above. You'll need to do your own reading and research. You should write down your exercise plan by day, i.e. legs Monday, Chest and shoulders Tuesday, etc...# of sets, # of reps. Read up and find out roughly how much protein you will need to consume on a daily basis, how many calories you are burning in a day, how many you need to consume. Going through the research will help you to learn what will work and what will not, but will also help you to understand what it takes to change the body, but more importantly, what it will take to change yours because your physique may respond differently to certain things. Read and study about resting the muscle groups. Lots to learns as you can see and I would not really look to other to tell you how to do it.

The last big thought that I can leave you with is to be patient. In one year you will begin to see change. In about 3 years you can achieve a different look.

good luck to you!

 

[glenzx]

When you say lean protein, what is that and what foods contain it?

Salmon is a good source, as is chicken - and smaller amounts of game (red) meats are good too. Tree nuts, beans/legumes, and so on as well. But more importantly...

And also, When on the Nutritional Facts sticker on food says the different kinds of fats, which ones do I need to stay away from. (All of them I'm assuming) I know very little about the nutritional facts, so any info there is great.

...Please do a little research on your own - here on the boards, and at the library. I recommend The Schwartzbein Principal book as a good guidline for outlining what to eat, and in what quantities / ratios. Note that it's somewhat non-sports biased, but the foundation is great and helped me get strong, fit, and lose 100 pounds (and keep it off).

Good healthy fats (like found in fish and tree nuts, for example) are CRITICAL for recovery and general health. Fats and Proteins are the building blocks that repair & restore muscle/skeletal tissue. Bad fats are processed and or damaged fats - like in fried food and candy bars. Carbs need only be eaten for energy used in he shoot-term, and right after wokouts to top off glycogen stores (fuel for muscles, stored locally). Be weary of carb-centered food regimens. Check out the Paleo Diet book(s) which talk about mans genetic pedisposition for game, fruits, nuts, and veggies.

We were never meant to ingest and digest 95% of the sh1t at typical supermarkets!

Anyhow - be smart about what advice you take, especially from here . Lot's of great info. and VERY knowledgeable pro's - but lot's of cluckin' ducks too (like me at times).

glen

 

[glenzx]

And furthermore....

... no, fitness is about work / training done, and recovery. When I was burning 4500 - 6500 calories a day, I was not so careful aboout what I ate. Somewhat, but not entirely. Why? Bcause I was always at a slight defecit, and bottom line - good calories or bad - is calories in / calories out tell the whole dang story. Sure, I ate mainly whole grains, lean meats, veggies, and fruit - but would also eat lot's of crap too.

So no - 'looking good' is not fitness, as others have noted.

 

[ebineezer]

your spine looks crooked

 

[MrEconomics]

do you whistle when the wind blows?

if you race, you need to add about 50%+ mental.

 

[HatTrick]

Tested Advice

Judging by your pictures, you're a college kid; I am one too. I am 6' 2" and 155 lbs. In brief, let me tell you the very simple and cheap steps that worked for me to build lean definition after I had started cycling.

1. Only eat when hungry
2. Fingertip push-ups and sit-ups. At first I could barely eek out 20 fingertip push-ups. Now I do 1 set of 100 consecutive push-ups; the first 80 are fingertip style and the last 20 normal style. For sit-ups I do 200 bicycle style, then 100 on each side. This takes about 5 mins to do, and I usually do it right after a ride, before a glass of chocolate milk as recovery (cheap) and then hopping in the shower.
3. Go to sleep slightly hungry. I always made sure I ate at least 3 hours before sleep and for my dinners to be high on lean protein and low in carbs. Studies show that too many carbs before sleep end up lowering your testosterone and muscle building whereas replacing those carbs with protein you get a larger spurt of human growth hormone when you hit stage 2 of sleep. Personally, I ate lots and lots of salmon. For a college kid on a cheap budget, I recommend canned salmon! You can get 15.75oz of true, Alaskan Wild for < $5. Make salmon cakes out of the can (good for at least 2 dinners), steam a cheap veggie like broccoli, and heat up a sweet potato in the microwave. Extremely healthful and well-rounded meal. Again though, make sure you don't eat after dinner. You hear that a lot on these boards and it's because it works...
4. Patience. It took some time, but after a couple of months I went from skinny with no ab definition to this:

Good luck.

 

[oscarc]

your spine looks crooked

could be the posture, he's kinda leaning a bit and not really standing at attention.

 

[difficult]

I'm confused: do you want to have cycling fitness or look good naked? There's some overlap, but the two are distinct.

There are a few people around town here that have bumper stickers that read "LOOK GOOD NAKED, RIDE YOUR BIKE!"