lovehandles

how can i get rid of these damn things? i am 39 and weigh 200 lbs at 5'9. i look like the average guy, i am not fat per say. i can see muscle defination in my stomache, the six pak is there, is just under a layer of chubbiness at the lower abdomin. the top part looks great, but there is a spare bicycle tire around the midriff. i have tried cardio and watching what i eat. i could always be more disciplined i guess, any suggestions would be great.

what specific cardio programs are geared to lose fat in this area? anyone have success here? i have been told it is just part of getting older and i may not be able to lose it without lipo.

Unfortunatly , lipo may be the only way to get rid of problem areas with a strong genetic predisposition toward fat storage. Cardio and diet may reduce it somewhat, but you'd have to lose alot of lean muscle to really hit those areas, as your body will eat into that before it goes into the fat stores.

thanks for the reply frogs. i am considering using a thermogenic product and drastically altering my diet, i know i will loose quite a bit of weight, but i dont want to lose the hard earned muscle for naught.

is it a good idea to not eat after a specific time? sometimes i train boxing/grappling till 7:30 or later and i am starved afterwards. i then eat and then go to bed sometime thereafter. does this food contribute to the fat area or does it help replenish my body and contribute to muscle gain?

running works wonders

Is running the best Cardio for this? What about an bike or elipical (sp)?

I use the eliptical but only because I am predispositioned for shin splints. Swimming is a good form of cardio as well.

lower your bodyfat

what does your nutritional regimen look like?

coach hale
www.maxcondition.com

Hell, I didn't even bother to ask him that. Bump what Coach Hale asked.

There are no specific forms of cardio or exercises which will allow you to preferentially target that particular area.

The timing of your food intake is also unlikely to have any effect except to the extent that it reduces your overall calorie intake.

My own observation is that it is extremely difficult
around 40 plus to maintain a full muscularity with low body fat. Yes you can lower your body fat and possibly rid yourself of the problem but you are likely to have a scrawny looking body unless you have exceptional genetics. My guess is that this is all hormonally driven and a natural part of aging unfortunately.Sorry I cannot give you more hope.


Timing of food intake, could very well be a very important area for him.

well i am looking to alter my diet to tuna, cottage cheese and greens, but i was under the impression that one should not eat after a certain time.

i have always had a hard time putting on weight and i have worked hard to get bigger. i dont know what my body fat is but i feel like these love handles detract from any gains i made.

i usually work out at 5:30 in morning and drink a protien drink during and after the work out. i then eat a banana, apple and a glass of orange juice when i get to work, and then about 10:00 i will eat a can of tuna or a container of some kind of lunch meat ham or turky. at lunch i usually eat at the cafeteria; could be just about anything. in the afternoon i will usually eat a granola bar and drink a v-8. when i get home i either do pilates (i know, i know) or i grapple for a couple of hours. then i will whatever i can find around the house; macoroni and cheese, chicken breast, pizza, tuna sandwich, sometimes tacos, whatever basically. to bulk up someone suggested eating a bowl of cereal before going to bed. i have done that on occasion, is that bad? i usually feel like i have more energy in the morning work outs when i do that.


I do not think that there is any evidence at all that the timing of food intake has any relevance to putting on fat and anecdotally I have never found it to be the case. It is a popular notion but quite unsupported by any evidence and in truth the important thing is your total calorific intake over a given period.

You can certainly watch what you eat and lower your body fat as has been previously stated but as I
have also stated being able to do so while maintaining a full muscularity becomes increasingly problematical
as you get past 40.

Sprint intervals are great.

Have you tried that?

Koing

i just started interval training, i do it once a week on saturdays; four 90 second sprints w/90 rest; six 45 scnd sprints w/30 scnd rests; eight 20 scnd sprints w/10 scnd rests.

HK-sprint intervals are not the panacea you seem to think they are for fat/weight loss when dealing with the older athlete. There are issues involved which as a 20 something year old you can barely comprehend.The
balance between muscularity and leanss is not easily balanced in the athlete post 40 and as much as I would like there to be a simple solution, it really is far too simplistic to propose sprints as the solution.Still this not something that need concern you! Be thankful for that!

Peter

I think that you could totally reach your fitness goal (no love handles), you just need to get a solid diet going for a while.

I'd stick to meat, vegetables, and some fruits and nuts.

I'd probably have a small snack, workout (5:30), then have a protein shake w/ some fruit blended in it (smoothie around 6:30), that combines your fruit meal w/ your shake.

At 10, I'd eat a salad w/ the tuna. If you're eating another type of lunch meat, make sure it's lean, low in fat.

Then, instead of eating in the caf, I'd bring something to eat, like another salad w/ meat. Note though: you just ate 2 hours ago, this meal shouldn't be a huge one.

I'd change your afternoon snack around, eat a small amount of food w/ some protein. Like: 2oz chicken w/ an apple and a small handful of peanuts.

Try to have a plan for supper, it's easy to eat whatever if you have no plan. Try eating meat and vegetables.

Eating lots of food right before you go to bed is a bad idea, cereal included. You could try eating a cup of cottage cheese before bed, that gives me lots of energy in the morning. Cottage cheese is a slow digesting protein.

Stuff you're doing right: eating many small meals throughout the day, fairly regular routine, eating enough protein, getting a variety of foods.

Stuff to work on: need more regularity, more vegetables, less starches (pasta, potatoes, bread, rice)

Read this article, short and contains very good info: http://www.t-mag.com/articles/172food2.html

awsome advice sage! thanks!

just read the article. i have some bad eating habits for sure.

should i stick to a strict diet and continue to bust ass, how long would it take to turn myself into a hardbody? my waist size now is about 33 and i am 5'9 and about 200 lbs. i am athletic but not ripped. does anybody know of anyone that was similar to me and changed their physique for the better and how long it took?

Any idea what your bodyfat is around? You should be able to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week if everything is right on. Say you lost 20 pounds, that's a significant amount of fat. If you had everything going right (again, people are different, maybe you can lose slower/faster) then in about 10-20 weeks, you'd have lost 20 pounds. From there you can re-evaluate, but think how big the difference would be.

Also, when you lose weight by eating healthy it's less likely to come back on. You don't have any rebounding effects from some fad diet. Learning how to control your weight is a great skill to have.