The 9 Essential Skinny Fat Training Tips You Need to Follow

Are you looking to build muscle and shed fat? Do you want to fix the skinny fat physique once and for all?

If so, read on because we’ll be going over nine actionable skinny fat training tips you can start applying right away. Specifically, we’ll go over:

• The right type of training
• What to focus on
• Tracking progress

And much more.

Let’s dive in.

The 9 Actionable Skinny Fat Training Tips You Need

1. Focus On Good Old Strength Training

Strength training is steadily growing in popularity, but countless people still rely on cardio to get in shape. I’ve written about it numerous times in the past, and I’ll write about it again:

Lifting weights is the most effective way for skinny fat people to lose fat and build muscle. No other activity offers the same level of practicality, versatility, and effectiveness. 

2. Give Yourself Enough Time to Recover Between Sets

Too many trainees make the mistake of rushing through their workouts and prevent themselves from making the best possible progress.

Just as good recovery plays a crucial role outside the gym, it is also essential during our workouts. Recovering well between sets allows you to maintain your performance, do enough sets, and train with proper technique. As a result, you’re able to grow more effectively and build strength quickly (1, 2).

Here are a few rules, depending on how many reps you’re doing:

• 2-6 reps - 3 to 5 minutes of rest
• 6 to 10 reps - 2 to 3 minutes of rest
• 10 to 15 reps - 1.5 to 2 minutes of rest
• 15 to 25 reps - 1 to 1.5 minutes of rest

The more weight you’re lifting and the more challenging a moment is (e.g., deadlift), the more time you will need to recover enough for the next set.

3. Prioritize Form Over Load. Always.

If there is one mistake I’ve seen at least a million times in the gym, it has to be this:

A person picks up weight they cannot handle and proceeds to swing it back and forth for a few seconds. I understand why many people make the mistake because I was once in that position myself. I could barely bench press 30 to 40 kilograms with good technique and wished to be strong enough to impress other gym members. But here is the thing:

Training with poor technique offers no benefits but only puts you at risk of getting injured. At best, you’re only wasting your time. The worst part? It doesn’t look cool, and it doesn’t make you appear strong.

Using proper technique, regardless of how much weight you can lift, is the single best way to improve the quality of your workouts. Doing so allows you to train the correct muscles, build a solid strength foundation, and stay safe. So, if there is one thing you take from this article, let it be this:

Always prioritize your form over the load you’re lifting, no matter who is in the gym or which one of your buddies can bench press twice the weight you can.

4. Track Your Training Progress

It baffles me how people can spend countless hours in the gym, training hard and pushing themselves, only to let it all go to waste by not recording what they are doing.

At first glance, not tracking your progress might seem okay. After all, you’re pushing yourself and working out consistently. Isn’t that what matters most? These two things are important. But you also need to track your progress. Doing so provides you with actionable data you can use to gauge the effectiveness of your plan.

If what you’re doing isn’t bringing results, you have data and are free to tweak the variables until everything clicks into place.

I recommend tracking the following:

• Appearance (progress photos and circumference measurements)
• Body weight (weight scale)
• Performance (workout-tracking)

Together, these four metrics will provide you with information for how your appearance and performance change (or don’t) over time. Based on the feedback, you can make the necessary changes to kickstart your progress or keep things as they are. You can read more about these tactics here.

5. Focus On A Few Proven Exercises

Another common mistake new trainees make is learning unnecessary exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions, flyes, and such. Don’t get me wrong: I have nothing against any of these movements. In fact, I enjoy doing them and find them beneficial. The problem is, beginners don’t need these movements because of two reasons:

• They are perfectly capable of growing optimally without these movements
• The movements add an unnecessary layer of complexity to an already overwhelming process

Because of that, I recommend sticking to a few proven exercises and dedicating your first few months of training to mastering them:

• Squat
• Bench press
• Barbell row
• Deadlift
• Chin-ups
• Face pulls
• Overhead press

6. Don’t Focus Too Much On Cardio

I enjoy the occasional bout of cardio and recommend that everyone do at least some aerobic exercise. Doing so improves your endurance, helps you burn some calories, and offers health benefits (3). Plus, cardio might enhance your ability to recover between workouts, which is always welcome (4).

The problem with cardio is that it interferes with your strength and muscle growth, especially if you overdo it (5). One good option is to do your cardio on rest days from lifting. Alternatively, space out your cardio and lifting by at least six hours. For example, run in the morning, lift in the evening.

If the above isn’t possible, but you still want to do some cardio, do your lifting first, and finish the session with ten to twenty minutes of low-intensity cardio. Check out these simple cardio routines to melt fat.

7. Breathe

Well, duh. Breathing is essential, and you’re probably wondering why I’m even mentioning it as a training tip. The reason is that many people forget to breathe and limit their ability to train effectively.

Proper breathing provides your body with the oxygen it needs to create ATP molecules, which provide energy for muscle contractions. Your body can produce ATP without oxygen but only for a bit before you end up exhausted.

In most cases, breathing correctly isn’t about knowing some training secret but about being disciplined. Breathe in before initiating a repetition, go to the halfway point, and exhale as you’re about to finish. For example, breathe in, curl the barbell, begin to lower it to the starting point, and exhale.

Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, it’s best to keep your breath in until you’re about finished with a repetition. For instance, breathe in, squat, go back to the top and exhale as you complete the repetition. In such an example, breathing out before you reach the top can cause you to lose the tightness in your midsection.

8. Arm Yourself With Patience

This is not precisely a skinny fat training tip, but I wanted to include it because too many beginners get started with false expectations, only to be disappointed later.

As bad as it might sound, there is no quick fix for the skinny fat physique. It takes months of hard effort, consistency, and trusting the process to see noticeable results. It then takes years to reach your genetic potential and know what you’re truly capable of. So, arm yourself with patience and run in the opposite direction if you come across someone selling you a ‘quick fix’ solution.

9. Don’t Fall For The Trap That You Have Bad Genetics

Many people, particularly skinny fat individuals, believe that they are doomed because of lousy genetics. While that might be the case for some unlucky people, the average person is more than capable of losing fat, building muscle, and transforming how they look.

Regardless of where you stand now, believe that improvements are possible. You can gauge how good your genetics are only after spending a few years training hard and eating well.

Bonus: Four Things Not To Do With Your Training

1. Don’t Push To Your Limits

Training to failure might seem cool, and it certainly feels good in the moment. But, doing so consistently will run you into the ground. Aside from increasing the risk of getting injured, pushing each set to the limit will slow down your recovery and hinder your performance on subsequent sets.

A much better approach would be to train within your limits, always leaving one to three reps in the tank. Doing so might seem less effective, but you’re still working hard, and you will most likely make the same progress, if not better (6).

2. Don’t Skip Warming Up

Warming up can be tedious, especially when you’re pressed for time. But, regardless of how you feel about it, taking five to ten minutes to prepare your body will:

• Boost your athletic performance (7)
• Put you in the mood for hard training
• Possibly lower your risk of getting injured

A good way to approach your warm-ups is to split the process into two parts: general and specific warm-up.

Your general warm-up should consist of simple activities that raise your core body temperature: hopping in place, riding a stationary bike, or doing a light jog on the treadmill. Do that for a couple of minutes and move to dynamic stretching exercises, like arm and leg swings.

Once you do that, jump into the specific portion of your warm-up by doing some warm-up sets for the first exercise you’re about to do. For example, if you plan on bench pressing 60 kilos, start with an empty bar, lift 30 kilos, then 50, and jump into your first working set.

3. Don’t Push Through Pain

Yes, this one might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people obsess over finishing their workouts and completely disregard warnings like physical pain. If you ever feel pain from an exercise, stop the set immediately. If the pain persists, take a couple of days off training.

If an exercise consistently leads to pain:

• See if your form needs improvement
• Reduce the amount of weight you’re lifting
• Switch the movement for another one

4. Don’t Train Mindlessly

The final don’t relates to the mindless swinging of weights that most people do and call ‘training.’ Proper training is about being conscious of your muscles and striving to place tension in the right places. Doing so allows you to grow and stay safe.

As with proper breathing, mindfulness isn’t difficult or complex, but it does require discipline and objectivity. As you initiate a set, breathe in, brace your body, and try to establish a connection with the muscles that should do all the work. For example, when doing a barbell curl, try to activate your biceps on every rep, forcing them to do all the work.

The tip might not seem all that important, but being mindful can make a huge difference and help you fix the skinny fat physique in less time.