I have been on T for a little over 4 months and I have been on a pretty rigorous workout routine in order to shave off that hip fat. I also had an oophorectomy prior of starting HRT and this helped A LOT as I can clearly see how I have lost fat etc, but after buying a jacket off ebay with a really heavy V-shape cut, I cannot close it over my hips unless I pull it up to my waist line and some shirts still look like I got very wide hips despite being male cut. If I bought a larger size the jacket wouldn't fit being too big over shoulders and arms.
While I am not at my ideal size yet and I still got plenty of fat to go, this is beginning to bug me and the dysphoria is creeping back. I would say that my hip-to-shoulder ratio if I would just compare what appears to mostly be bone mass is about 1/1, so I look pretty straight or would look straight. I am a small guy at around 5"3 so really, what to do? Is it normal to be this wide over the hips? I am not even that wide being somewhere between endomorph and ectomorph and a little overweight but still within the normal BMI range for my height. Can I get a decent V-shape like this?
I am currently mostly doing cardio with some very moderate lifting (about 20+ lbs).
I think you should probably focus less on "slimming down" your hips and more on bulking up your shoulders and arms as that's what often gives the illusion of the "V" shape. What kinds of upper body workouts are you doing?
Quote from: Kreuzfidel on June 23, 2014, 08:07:24 AM
I think you should probably focus less on "slimming down" your hips and more on bulking up your shoulders and arms as that's what often gives the illusion of the "V" shape. What kinds of upper body workouts are you doing?
I am doing lifts/curls. Free-lifting of biceps curls kind of, and then I do overhead lifts.
Welcome to the club, Ephemeral -- lots of us struggle with these same things.
QuoteI think you should probably focus less on "slimming down" your hips and more on bulking up your shoulders and arms as that's what often gives the illusion of the "V" shape.
This -- also, it's good to work on the upper back, especially the lats (major source of that V shape) and obliques (build them up to de-emphasize your waist); and it's pretty easy to bulk up your traps, which won't make your shoulders wider but will give them a lot more mass.
That said, if you want to bulk up, you'll need to work on increasing the weight you're lifting -- you can lift "moderate" weight forever, and you'll get somewhat stronger but not much will happen otherwise.
Overhead lifts are good, as they work your traps and triceps as well as your delts. (If you look at cis-male lifters, most of their upper-arm mass comes from triceps, not biceps.) Off the top of my head, some other good upper-body exercises would be bent-over rows, shrugs, bent-arm pull-overs... and the ever popular bench press, to keep things balanced by working your pecs, and work your triceps some more, and... just because it's a kick. :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: Tysilio on June 23, 2014, 10:34:53 AM
Welcome to the club, Ephemeral -- lots of us struggle with these same things.
Thanks.
QuoteThis -- also, it's good to work on the upper back, especially the lats (major source of that V shape) and obliques (build them up to de-emphasize your waist); and it's pretty easy to bulk up your traps, which won't make your shoulders wider but will give them a lot more mass.
That said, if you want to bulk up, you'll need to work on increasing the weight you're lifting -- you can lift "moderate" weight forever, and you'll get somewhat stronger but not much will happen otherwise.
Yeah, I am trying to increase slowly but I am not in a hurry because I'm also doing cardio each workout and I currently emphasize loss. I am trying to do both essentially. Goes so-so, but it doesn't hurt doing even moderate lifts so it's like whatever.
QuoteOverhead lifts are good, as they work your traps and triceps as well as your delts. (If you look at cis-male lifters, most of their upper-arm mass comes from triceps, not biceps.) Off the top of my head, some other good upper-body exercises would be bent-over rows, shrugs, bent-arm pull-overs... and the ever popular bench press, to keep things balanced by working your pecs, and work your triceps some more. and... just because it's a kick. :icon_mrgreen:
I think I am going to add more strength and less cardio over time, but I decided to wait until I feel satisfied with my current shape in terms of fat.
I don't have "child bearing hips" by any means, but I do plan to really work out once I get on T. My upper body needs a lot of bulking up, and I'd like bigger legs - both of those things will make my hips less noticeable. I haven't been to a gym in ages, but I'm seriously considering it once I get on T, and a personal trainer.
Quote from: EphemeralI think I am going to add more strength and less cardio over time, but I decided to wait until I feel satisfied with my current shape in terms of fat.
Sounds like a plan. :)
And the main thing, really, is just to keep doing whatever works for you -- because you'll just feel better generally, like yourself more, and all that good stuff. It's amazing what a difference it makes.
I have giant hips and I like them. They feel good even if they don't look exactly right. I've seen cismen with worse, so I don't feel like mine make me stand out.
You aren't me, though. I would echo the advice to work on your upper body since that's easier to change, and to keep doing what makes you feel good about yourself. Testosterone will probably still be improving/complicating things a lot for the next year or so.