back help please

**gymgirl** · 14-Apr-06, 11:39 PM

hello-

i'm pretty new here, but have been lurking for awhile now. you all seem very helpful and knowledgable. i've been working out pretty much my whole life. i was a gymnast from age 3-18, and after i retired from gymnastics i went straight into weight training and doing cardio 4-5 times per week. i am 27 now and over the past 3-4 years i've began holding excess weight in my lower back. i call it my 'backfat'. i can't figure out how to get rid of it. i do cardio 4-5 times per week, alternating between HIIT on the treadmill and just running at a steady pace for 3 miles. i also lift 4-5 times per week, and i work on my lower back with squats, deadlifts, hyper extentions, and an exercise that i don't know the name for. i stand on one leg on a bosu with my other leg extended behind me and with a 15 lb dumbell in my hand then lean forward and come back up to starting position.

my diet hasn't changed much and my body fat % has lowered. i am 105 lbs and 15% bodyfat, but the backfat won't go away. it definitely fluctuates especially with hormones and my cycle. any ideas on how to get rid of this? i am also having trouble getting my upper back muscles defined. i train my back with 3 sets of 10 pull-ups, lat pulldowns, dumbell rows, and standing single leg row with the cable. i am getting wider, but am missing the definition. maybe i need to decrease my bodyfat more?

any help would be greatly apprciated.

thanks!

**Lady C** · 15-Apr-06, 09:41 AM

Just like abs, the last place for fat to disappear is the mid section. You are doing pleanty of work I would suggest it is your diet. What does a typical day look like?

Doing heavier exercises for the back will help it get more defined.

**gymgirl** · 15-Apr-06, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

Just like abs, the last place for fat to disappear is the mid section. You are doing pleanty of work I would suggest it is your diet. What does a typical day look like?

Doing heavier exercises for the back will help it get more defined.

thanks lady c. my typical day looks like this:

7am Breakfast:
1/2 cup oatmeal with fruit and almonds
1 hard boiled egg

10:30 Snack:
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 protein bar
or
1 cup melon (honeydew or cantalop (sp?)

12pm Lunch:
small bowl of soup (i usualy make a homemade chili with veggies and 3 beans)
spinach salad with 1/2 can tuna

3:30 Snack: (right before gym)
whole wheat tortilla filled with veggies, hummus and tuna

7pm Dinner:
either baked salmon with roasted veggies
or
gardenburger patty with roasted veggies
or
salmon burger patty with roasted veggies

8:30pm
last 1/2 of protein bar.

i'm trying hard to not eat anything after 7:30, but by 8:30 i am hungry again, and usualy go to bed at 9pm or 9:30. right now i am trying so hard to not eat that last 1/2 protein bar before bed. when i don't i will wake up starving in the middle of the night. i try to drink water when i'm hungry but it's not filling!
i also have just began to eat fish over the past few years. before that i had been a vegitarian since i was 16.

thanks for your help!

Ctrainer · 15-Apr-06, 11:50 AM

Just from the info from your post I suggest the following options.

Zig zag your nutritional schedule. Your workout schedule shows 2days rest a week. If this is so, lower your calorie/carbo count on those days. And increase your count per day based on the intensity and duration of your workout days. Keep your largest portions of carbos grouped with a 3 hour block of your workouts. And taper off accordingly. Also if you are going to bed hungry your nutritional schedule is off. Meaning you’re not balancing your metabolism.
Change your workout more often. Get a partner or different partner. Get a personal trainer if you can.
Spend more time under muscle tension. When you do reps, count a 3 count on your positive and then on your negative.
Do sets of 15 and 20 with the proper weight not 8 and 12.

Good Fitness

Charlie Trainer
www.podfitnessbod.com

**Lady C** · 15-Apr-06, 12:29 PM

GymGirl - Have you added those diet values up? What percentage of your diet is protein and what percentage is carbs? It looks like you might need more protein but without adding it up, it is just a guess.

Do you eat any dairy? I ask because those bars are crappy and don't stay with you long. Eating 1/2 cup cottage cheese would be better or another hard boiled egg.

The myth of eating late put on fat is a tough one to kill. Your body is telling you need food, that is why you are hungry. Also add in fiberous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, aspargus, califlower at dinner will keep you fuller longer. I eat and within 1/2 hour got to bed. Usually it is salmon and broccoli or similar.

Don't go lighter weights like trainer says!

**cursor** · 15-Apr-06, 12:38 PM

Welcome to DiscussFitness.com, gymgirl. Congratulations on your fitness level. You sound like you're quite dedicated.

Adjusting your nutritional intake so that it matches your metabolic intensity is certainly the way to go. Feed the machine only what it can effectvely process.

Workout Timing and Diet Tactics
Workout day vs nonWorkout day

Increased reps is NOT the answer to improved fat-loss. On the contrary, lower reps with greater intensity will boost your metabolism more (and for a longer time frame) than increased reps using lower resistance.

While it's great that you're doing quality compound exercises for your back and lower body, you realize (I hope) that those movements won't target body fat in those specific areas ... right?

On the days that you exercise, how does your session dovetail with your meal plan?

CF-OC_gal · 15-Apr-06, 04:18 PM

Hi,

At 15% bodyfat you are already maintaining quite a low % (for a girl). Probably your difficult areas are just the places you are predisposed to store bodyfat. That's not to say you can't try to get rid of it , but keep in perspective that an already low bodyfat level you might find it hard to maintain an even lower one. I'm sure your gymnastics background exposed you to a lot of pressures to keep your weight and diet in check so don't forget your overall health needs when setting target goals for fat loss/ BF%. Maybe only for certain periods of the year it would be wise to drop lower.

Your un-named exercise is probably a one legged deadlift or good morning on a bosu.

tim_mcf · 16-Apr-06, 01:57 AM

Get back into the gymnastics. Even if not for competition, do the exercises.

**gymgirl** · 16-Apr-06, 03:29 PM

thanks everyone for your responses, and suggestions.

lady c- i haven't added up the value of what i am eating, that is something i should do. i think you are right, i need more protein. i do eat dairy, and have tried so many times to eat cottage cheese, but i can't get it down. i've tried mixing it with fruit. any suggestions on what to mix it with to disquise the texture and flavor? maybe i should blend it up in a drink?

also thanks for the info on the eating late myth. my trainer is the one telling me not to eat a single thing past 7:30pm. i'll have to try adding more fiberous veggies with my dinner too, that's a good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

Don't go lighter weights like trainer says!

ok, good, becuse i notice more of a change in my body when i lift heavier and less reps.

cursor- thanks for the welcome and links to the info. :-) yah, i know that working those area with the exerecises i mentioned wont target the body fat there, but my trainer told me a few years ago that strengthening the area and building a little muscle will help shape the area. i have noticed a difference from doing exercises for that area, now it's the body fat i'm working on losing!

sorry, i don't think i'm understanding your question. are you asking me on days i work out when and what i am eating before and after i workout, vs what i'm eating on my off days?

brat- that makes me feel better! i think that is a lot of it too, i'm just predisposed to carrying my excess weight in my lower back. i just need to realize it and get over it. ;-) my trainer is telling me that inorder for me to get rid of the lowerback fat and get more cut over all, i need to drop to 12% body fat and 100lbs (i'm 5'3). i asked him if i should maintain that year-round and if it was healthy. he says tells me yes. i'm not convinced, and brat i think you are right, it could be possible maybe during summer, but maintaining 12% bodyfat year round dosen't seem healthy to me.

tim- i've been thinking about doing gymnastics for fun, but when i was competing i was never really defined, just bulky. ;-) you should have seen the size of my legs. ha.

thanks everyone for your help!!

**cursor** · 16-Apr-06, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gymgirl

sorry, i don't think i'm understanding your question. are you asking me on days i work out when and what i am eating before and after i workout, vs what i'm eating on my off days?

Between which meals do you exercise?

07:00 AM Breakfast
10:30 AM Snack
12:00 PM Lunch
03:30 PM Snack
07:00 PM Dinner
08:30 PM Snack

**.V.** · 16-Apr-06, 04:19 PM

Hey gymgirl, go to www.fitday.com and open a free account. Then you can keep exact track of everything you put into your mouth. It helps a great deal. Then when you post exactly what your nutrient profile is or at least know what it is the links from cursor will be easier for you use to figure out what changes to make.

**gymgirl** · 28-May-06, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cursor

Between which meals do you exercise?

07:00 AM Breakfast
10:30 AM Snack
12:00 PM Lunch
03:30 PM Snack
07:00 PM Dinner
08:30 PM Snack

thanks everyone for your help. work has been busy and i haven't had time to post.

i workout between my 3:30 snack and dinner.

i've noticed some changes in the back fat...this might sound weird but i seem to accumulate it more when i lift heavier, and not specificaly back or legs, all over heavier. it makes my entire waist larger. if i'm lifting light and not looking to put on muscles the backfat seems to go away.

a_welch i'll check out that link you posted.

thanks everyone for your help.

lyra · 28-May-06, 04:07 PM

Hey gymgirl,

No, it's not weird that it SEEMS like you have more fat when you are lifting weights. I was the same way when I first started doing lots of ab crunches. It seemed like I was getting more of a gut! But I believe that it was just the ab muscles pushing the fat out and making it look bigger

But after I lost some more body fat it went away and now I'm happier with my more toned tummy

~Nicole