Did tabata training, now my body looks a bit disproportionate

Question

I did tabata intervals religously for 2 months and the results have been great. I did my intervals on an elliptical machine for 4 times a week running for roughly 16minutes to 25minutes a day.

But it looks like ive hit my limit with this tabata exercise. My legs constantly feel tired and exhausted and i now cant continue my tabata exercises. I also feel hungry and tired everyday, constantly.

Another problem is my legs look fit and cut, while my upper body and abdomen is not. I am under the impression that i am on a upper body plateau or something.

Although ive been doing pushups, situps and weight training with my 8lb dumbbells together with my tabata. It doesnt quite show as much in my upperbody

I can feel my abs under the layer of fat but it isnt really coming out.

What upperbody and abdomen exercises can i do to make them show with only an elliptical machine, an exercise mat and two dumbbells weighing at 8lbs each?

And what weight lifting exercise or circuit exercise without weights can i replace my tabata with to even out y body while losing weight?

Answer 1

Tabata, like sprinting, has significant anaerobic involvement (sprinters look muscly, runners look skinny). Your legs probably look fit and cut because your muscles have had to make significant gains (hypertrophy) over the last two months on the elliptical. If you were to total up calorie expenditure from each area of your body during a workout, I'm sure you'll find your legs are making up the brunt of the total exertion.

Furthermore, it sounds like you are undereating. Feeling hungry and tired all day, every day is a pretty obvious indicator of this. It's easy to be overzealous about how much of a caloric deficit you create for yourself when dieting. Unless you're patient about it, odds are you won't be happy about your results because, in my experience, you'll just look sickly/unhealthy. So, instead start making a serious effort at determining your total caloric needs, counting your calories exactly, and eating at a minor caloric deficit (maybe start at 100-200 calories per day). Not only will your weight loss be much healthier, this will also help prevent you from going catabolic (where your body uses your muscle for fuel rather than fat).

As for bodyweight exercises, there are many options. As you know, you can continue using the tabata method for any exercise. 8lb dumbbells don't offer a lot of resistance, but you could incorporate them into exercises like thrusters, pushup rows, weighted burpees, etc. If you can do pullups, that would add a lot to your "pull" muscle development (lats, biceps, etc), and help even-out your torso.

Generally speaking, losing fat while gaining muscle (also called recomposition) is a pretty difficult task, but -- anecdotally speaking -- it's possible. Personally, when I recomp, I eat at a caloric surplus.

Hope that helps.