In this quick 2 minute post I will list the 3 most important lessons I’ve learned during my 5 year skinny-fat transformation.
If you follow the 3 lessons below, I’m 100% certain that you will save years of wasted effort.
Let’s get started:
(1) Strength Gains = Muscle Gains? Nope.
Most beginner training programs out there are based on lifting heavy to increase strength.
The logic behind this is that strength gains lead to muscle gains.
That’s wrong.
Strength can lead to muscle gains, but there are much better ways to gain muscle mass than maxing out your bench press, squat and deadlift.
Besides that, the muscle gains you do get from doing these heavy lifts are often in places you don’t want them:
- Bench press >> Lower chest. (Most skinny-fat men lack upper chest).
- Squat >> Glutes and thighs. (Most skinny-fat men have wide hips already).
If you don’t believe me, take a look at the best weightlifters and powerlifters in the world, and then compare them with bodybuilders.
Weightlifters and powerlifters can lift much more weight than bodybuilders, but they don’t carry as much muscle mass.
The reasoning is that training for strength is different than training to gain muscle mass.
Training for strength is done in the lower rep-ranges (4-6 reps).
Training for muscle size is done in the medium rep-ranges (8-12 reps).
By training in the 8-12 rep range, you maximize muscular hypertrophy.
(2) You Must Get Lean Before Focusing On Muscle Gains
Another misconception that guys have is related to choosing between 2 goals:
- Losing fat / cutting.
- Building muscle mass / bulking.
If you’re skinny-fat or fat, you should always choose to lose fat first and now I will explain why…
Your nutrient partitioning is better when you’re lean.
This means that your body is much better at using food for muscle gains when it’s lean and healthy compared to when you carry a lot of body-fat.
In other words, by getting lean first you will be able to gain a greater amount of muscle mass in the long run!
Furthermore, the muscle mass that you gain will be more visible since it’s not hidden under a layer of fat.
(3) Accept That It Will Take A Long Time
If you believe that you can build a great physique in 12 weeks, then I’m here to shatter your belief.
Here’s how the first 12 weeks of a body-transformation usually look like:
- You spend the first 4 weeks figuring out the practical stuff such as cooking your meals, getting to the gym regularly and experimenting with your training and diet to find out what works for you.
- After you get into it all you will see some changes each month, but they won’t be huge.
- After 12 weeks you will look slightly different, but you won’t be transformed.
There are some exceptions though…
The photo below shows a 12 week progression from one of my private coaching clients Logan Rando from the US:
As you can see in the photo, Logan has made tremendous progress in just 12 weeks, but he’s pretty much a “best-case scenario”.
Logan is extremely hard working in the gym, he sticks to his diet throughout the whole week and he didn’t waste time following advice that doesn’t work.
Be proud but stay hungry,
Oskar Faarkrog, ISSA Certified Personal Trainer
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Hey Oskar! I really appreciate the articles. They are so detailed and down to the science so well that I can’t believe I actually found a website as good as yours. I wanted to ask you for advice because there is so many bs out there on the internet that I wanted to get a straight answer as possible. I’m 5’11 and 181 pounds. I’ve been working out with weights split 5 days for 2 weeks but now I decided to do bodyweight training instead because I don’t want any early injuries plus I feel it’s better for me. Here’s the thing. I do body weight training but I can’t do very much push ups like 3 sets of 2 push ups after trying negative chin ups . . I can’t do chin up but I am practicing negative chin ups . I do 3 sets of failure. And I do squats.I’m trying to increase it the reps little by little and try to get a full chin up. I workout 4 times a week. I’m starting with the very basics. I’m eating around 1400-1600 a day. I’m trying to get it as close as I can to the 1600 cals as much as possible a day.im 23 and my bmi is 1938 but I don’t know how to considered the activity level since I can’t do very much regardless. It last around 20 minutes . I do feel sore though on my back mostly which I guess is why I can’t do those workout correctly. I probably need more back muscle to be able to do them.i feel full throughout the day eating around that much .
Do you think that is good for what I’m starting with? I am a beginner by the way and I’m hoping my so called “noob gains”. Kick in to get rolling on the ball. Thank you in advance. Hoping to hear from you.
P.S. I really do feel you on having manboobs . I have them too. Which is why your website stuck out for me more than the rest I found online. I suffer with them for a long time and I want to make a change . I want to have the body of my dreams. I know my wife doesn’t care about my looks but I want to be that protector for her and I want my confidence to grow. Thank you for hearing me out in advance. I hope to hear from you