The ‘Skinny-Fat’ Workout You Can Do at Home (2024 Update Plus BONUS Nutrition Plan)

Since we are in lockdown with the plague and all, I figured it would be a good time to share a workout you can do at home. This skinny fat home workout comes in two varieties.

The first requires no equipment. It comprises solely of bodyweight exercises.

The second workout routine requires only a set of dumbbells.

This post is written for the skinny fat beginner. But long time readers and newcomers will benefit from this article.

We provided an overview of skinny fat facts to give context for the workout plan and why it’s so effective. I also share nutrition information that has been proven to help you go from skinny fat to fit.

Now, let’s get to it!

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive a small commission if you click on a product/service link and make a purchase.

The Skinny-Fat Body Type

If you haven’t read the article ‘what is skinny-fat?’, now would be a good time to do that. The spark notes version is this:

Skinny-fat is a very common body type where one is both skinny looking and fat looking at the same time.

How do you know if you are skinny-fat? Typically a skinny fat guy looks skinny with a t-shirt on and fat or flubby without a shirt.

The crazy thing is that skinny-fat guys are sometimes in the ‘healthy’ weight range for their height according to BMI. Skinny-fat people have high body fat percentage and low muscle mass. Because their body composition is not ideal they can be at risk for health issues if they don’t do something about it.

What Causes Skinny-Fat?

Skinny-fat is primarily caused by poor diet and lack of physical exercise. You may think you have poor genetics but you’re wrong. You are a descendent of GENETIC WINNERS.

A lot of people didn’t survive the past 1000 generations. (Over 200,000 years of human evolution.)

Yet, here you are. Look at you reading on the internet machine. Amazing.

So please, cut the bullshit about bad genetics. You don’t have bad genetics, what you have is poor gene expression.

There’s a ton of potential waiting latent in your genetic code. You just need to tap into it. You just need to find your awesomeness that’s already inside you. This is done by environmental stimuli. (I.e. training and diet.)

In practical terms, many guys are skinny-fat due to lack of knowledge about how to overcome it, or how to avoid becoming skinny fat in the first place. While others are skinny fat because they lack the will or desire to fix it. Sometimes both.

If you don’t have the will or desire to fix skinny fat I can’t help you much. But, if you’re reading this right now I’ll go out on a limb and say you want to fix the skinny fat. You’ve already shown intent and are willing to take action. Good. That will serve you well.

You’re sick of being skinny-fat and want to get rid of your belly fa, once and for all. Today you will learn everything you need to know in order to have your own skinny-fat transformation without ever stepping foot into a gym.

Here’s How You Beat Skinny-Fat

First we’ll talk about the skinny fat diet that destroys body fat. These foods work in your favor to actually burn belly fat rather than store it. They give you clean energy to fuel you all day long and make you feel amazing. The foods are protein packed and nutrient rich to help you build muscle mass.

Then we’ll cover the best exercises you can do at home to completely transform your body from skinny-fat to fit. As stated previously, two workouts are provided for you. One can be done without equipment, and other can be done with a set of dumbbells.

How I fixed Skinny-fat

Because I used to be a skinny-fat guy but now I’m ripped to shreds. This process works. Here’s a glimpse at my skinny-fat transformation. It took a while but if you are willing to put in the work then you will get results.

I used to be a pudge with thin arms and a fat gut. Now I’m shredded with chiseled abs. I transformed because I ate like I’m telling you to eat. And I worked out consistently with a goal in mind

I’m not the only one who benefited from this guide. 100’s of skinny fat guys around the globe transform their physique with this information. On that note, let’s take it from the top…

The Skinny-Fat Diet

Before we launch into the workout, we need to talk about diet. 80% of any successful skinny fat body transformation comes down to diet.

The best diet for skinny fat people is one that reduces body fat percentage. There are three ways to change your body fat percentage.

1. lose fat
2. gain muscle
3. gain muscle and lose fat at the same time – Also known as body recomposition.

How to lose fat – you lose fat by burning more calories than your consume. You must be in a calorie deficit to lose fat.

That’s the simplest way to put it. Although if it were just that simple would there be so many skinny fat people?

Calorie intake is just one part of the equation. The type of calories you consume matter.

In simple terms, a successful and SUSTAINABLE diet can be summed up thusly: You must eat the right foods and avoid the bad stuff.

Without the right diet you’re doomed for failure. It’s true what they say: You can’t outwork a bad diet.

Not in the long run anyway. So you might as well learn about nutrition first so you can apply you knowledge of nutrition principles for maximum benefit.

First, let’s get rid of the bad food to make room for the good. A bad diet is self-sabotage. You’ve got to ditch to poor diet to get rid of the skinny fat look. Losing fat is hard enough as it is. Do yourself a favor and adopt a skinny fat diet using the guideline below.

It undermines your progress, sucks your energy and kills your drive. So, that being said, the first thing you need to do is clean up your diet.

Here’s how you do it:

Cut out all Sugar

Sugar is a drug designed to get you addicted to bad foods. Lose the sugar and watch the fat literally disappear from your body.

Eliminate Processed Foods

Processed foods are not real foods. Processed foods (99% of modern foods) are completely stripped of nutrients. They are then loaded with industrial-grade chemicals so they last longer without rotting. Then cheap fillers are added to ‘cut’ the foods, further depleting the nutritional value.

After all that, to add insult to injury, chemical additives are mixed in to give you the sensation of taste. (Otherwise it taste like cow pies.) The creators of these poisons ‘foods’ know it taste like crap so they add fake flavor to make it edible.

This is a bad deal for you because your body can’t process these chemicals so they build up in your body causing all kinds of problems. (i.e. a skinny-fat body) If you let it go on for too long it can wreck your body beyond repair.

Stop Eating Genetically Modified Organisms

3rd world countries with starving citizens reject genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods because they are unfit for human consumption.

SPOILER ALERT: Nature wins, guys.

Nature knows best. When human beings play God by modifying food there are bound to be slip ups.

Eating GMO foods one time won’t kill you. But eating GMO foods day after day after day after day after day…

All that modified genetic material reacts with your genetic code and could interfere with your hardware, software and circuitry.

Who knows what could happen next.

(Look, I’m all for scientific advancements, but we need to think critically about this and look at the data -If you can find it and if you can validate it’s accuracy.)

Do Intermittent Fasting

My favorite form of Intermittent fasting is when you eat within an 8-hour window each day. For example, you might skip breakfast and eat lunch and dinner. Lunch is eaten at noon and dinner around 8PM.

Intermittent fasting gives your body time to burn body fat as fuel. If you’re digesting food all day it doesn’t give your body a chance to purge.

You will also consume less calories and eat higher quality calories because you won’t be able to eat or snack outside of your 8-hour feeding window.

Eliminate Carbs

Eliminate carbohydrate foods as much as possible. That means no pasta, bread or rice. Carbs are what cause skinny-fat people in the first place. Eliminate the enemy, eliminate the threat, and reclaim your health. They are easy to over eat. And are typically processed to the point of no nutritional value.

I know this reduction diet seems like blasphemy in this day and age. How dare I say for you to go without?

Well, that’s how it’s done. Either do it or don’t, it’s up to you. I’ve made my choice and feel better than ever because of it. Once you get it out of your system and see how great you feel, you won’t miss it. You’ll see it for what it really is – engineered foodstuff to make you fat and dumb. Sounds harsh but the deeper you look into processed foods the more clear it becomes.

Processed foods kill testosterone and cause fat gain. Sugar causes inflammation and wreaks havoc on your system.

For these reasons and more, all your calories should come from freshly prepared whole foods.

Now, Eat the Good Stuff

Now let’s fill that nutritional void with fresh meat, whole eggs and vegetables. These foods should make up most of your meals.

The great thing about these foods is you can eat as much as you want so you’re never hungry, plus you won’t get fat. It’s not possible. It doesn’t happen. You can eat until your heart’s content and feel good about it because you are doing a kindness to your body and Being.

Yes, you can literally eat as much as you want and still look and feel better than ever… As long as you eat the right stuff.

If you want to make drastic results very quickly then I recommend the Steak and Eggs diet to kick-start fat loss. Try it for two weeks to prime your body for maximum lean muscle gains.

Skinny-Fat Diet Plan Recap

I intentionally left this diet plan vague. It’s up to you dear reader to fill in the blanks. Just follow the principles and you will make progress. Keep learning as you go. Fight through temptation. The major battle in transforming your body is getting your diet right.

Your Mission is to:

• Reduce carbohydrates as much as possible
• Eliminate processed foods completely
• Consume no added sugar or snack foods
• 80-90% of the food you eat should be fresh meat, eggs, fish and veggies

Victory or defeat resides with you and you alone. Anyone can be victorious as long as you prepare appropriately and follow through.

Start you skinny-fat to fit transformation by cleaning up your diet RIGHT NOW.

Pro Tip: Learn how to meal prep. Cooking your own food is the only way to know for sure what’s in it. Cooking is an important skill everyone my learn. It will change your life and ensure you eat healthy forever.

Supplements for Skinny-Fat Guys

Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive a small commission when you click a link and buy a product/service.

A quick note on supplements as this topic always comes up.

Do you need supplements to get in great shape? No.

Can Supplements give you a slight edge? Yes.

Supplements can help you get results faster. The best supplements for skinny-fat guys are a clean protein powder, a pre-workout, and good ol’ dissociated beef liver tablets.

Supplements do not replace a healthy diet. You must eat plenty of nutritions, all-natural, fresh Whole Foods if you want to go from skinny-fat to fit. If you pushed me, I’d say the best supplements for skinny-fat guys are a good, clean protein powder (for shakes because they offer extra protein and double as a snack to curb your sweet tooth.)

Another supplement you could try is a pre-workout (with or without stimulant depending on your preference.) This is because pre-workout gives you energy and helps you feel motivated to train harder.

The Skinny-Fat Home Workout Plan

Now, the moment you have been waiting for. This workout plan is designed specifically for a skinny fat body type. It puts muscle in the right places, making you strong, fit and healthy in the process.

The objective of this workout plan is to:

1. Build muscle mass throughout your entire body
2. Reduce body fat percentage to reveal muscle definition
3. Sculpt your upper body muscles to create the best visual effect
4. Detox your body and increase your metabolism to burn more calories at rest

Full Body Workouts for an Athletic Physique

Your very nature demands movement. It’s not a suggestion or a just a good thing to do, no, it’s much more than that. Moving a lot every day is 100% necessary to enhance quality of life. Every muscle must be engaged to develop a balanced healthy physique.

The best skinny-fat workouts are total-body. Arms, torso, legs and all. Maximizing your lean muscle mass is critical to reshaping your body, and keeping you fit for the long haul. This provides unlimited benefits and prevents you from health disaster.

Reduce Body fat Percentage

To have a skinny-fat transformation is to undertake a body recomposition. That is you will increase your muscle mass and you will decrease body fat.

Ignite Your Metabolism

The workouts are intense enough to create a fat burning effect and reduce belly fat. You will sweat out all the toxins building up in your body. Once you clear these out your body will shift gears and increase your metabolism

Strategic Muscle Building

The goal is to reduce your waist size and increase your shoulder width to create a masculine frame. Creating an illusion of wide shoulders will make your life much easier. The exercises are selected to create broad shoulders and a V-tapered back. The resistance training will help you gain muscle and lose fat to improve your body composition to the right levels

We’ll go through the best exercises to fix skinny-fat that can be performed in your own home. We’ll start with the basic bodyweight exercises and progress to more advanced at home workouts that incorporate weight training .

The Skinny-Fat Bodyweight Workout You can Do at Home Today!

There are eight bodyweight exercises that every skinny-fat man must do if you want a better physique. They are:

• Push-ups
• Sit-ups
• Leg Raises
• Bodyweight Squats
• Lunges
• Planks
• Pull-ups
• Dips

These exercises combined are a full body workout to build total body muscle. You want to build muscle everywhere because more muscle means you burn more fat and start to get rid of the skinny fat look.

Strength training with body weight exercises also puts muscle in the right places to give you the right look. (Wide shoulders and lean waist, for the lean, strong athletic look.)

Skinny-Fat Bodyweight Workout Exercises

Here we will walk through each exercise.

Push-Ups

Push-ups build your chest, arms and shoulders. They also strengthen your back, core and legs. Push-ups add lean muscle mass to your upper body. They sculpt your pectorals and build broad shoulders.

There are an infinite number of push up variations you can do so you’ll never get bored and always make progress.

Do push-ups with your hands placed shoulder width apart. This is the perfect starting point. Incorporate wide grip push-ups to build muscle on your outer chest and create a wider shoulders.

Make sure to do diamond push-ups when you are able to do 20 regular pushups in a row. Diamond pushups are perfect of building lean muscle mass in your chest, arms and shoulders.

Push ups are an essential part of a skinny fat workout plan.

Leg Lifts

Leg Lifts build core strength and abdominal muscles. You need a strong core with abdominal muscle growth so that when the belly fat goes away you’ll have six pack abs to show for it.

To perform the Leg Lift, lay down flat with your back on the ground. Lift your legs up into the air by flexing your abs. Keep your legs as straight as possible. (A little bend in the knee is okay.)

LIFT your legs up slowly using your abdominal muscles. Don’t swing them up. That’s cheating. Keep the muscular tension on your abdominals.

Hold the lift at the top with the bottom of your feet facing the ceiling. Then slowly lower your legs back down to the floor. Keep the tension on your abs the entire set.

Leg raises are superior abdominal strength training exercise that give you the coveted Adonis Belt that women swoon for.

Planks

Planks seem too simple to work. I overlooked planks for a long time until my buddy convinced me to try them.

Holy shnikees did they work.

I was shaking and sweating bullets within a few seconds of assuming the plank position. My muscles where burning like crazy after about a minute. Planks are great for building muscle density and muscle mass in your torso, hips and thighs. They also train your body as a unit.

You have to brace yourself to maintain the plank position. And this bracing is a skill that translates to improved execution of all other exercises. Hold planks as long as you can. Try to beat your time every workout.

Try side planks and other plank variations for an added challenge.

The idea is to keep making progress. That’s all that matters.

Sit-Ups

Classic sit-up or crunches performed any way you choose. Focus on engaging your abdominal muscles and using them to pull up your torso. Flex your abs as hard as you can at the top. Almost to the point of ‘cramping’.

Crunch them as hard as you can and hold than maximum crunch for a few seconds. This is how you build muscle density and make those abs pop like 3-D. This also helps give you serrated obliques.

Bodyweight Squat

You need strong legs to beat skinny-fat. Don’t skip leg day unless you want to end up back at square one. Legs are your biggest and strongest muscle group, so do not neglect them. Once you build a nice foundation of muscle mass in your legs you’ll be a fat burning machine.

Legs are your largest muscles. They have the most muscle building potential. The more muscle you have the more fat you burn because muscle is metabolic. So build your legs!

Skip leg day at your own peril. I’ve made the best gains of my life when I started training legs seriously. Go as low as you can each squat rep. Work on your flexibility. Go low, go slow and feel the deep burn – don’t stop what you feel it either, lean into it! That’s how you make it count.

Lunges

Lunges are great for for training your entire lower body. They loosen tight hips and train your balance. After doing lunges you’ll feel muscles you never knew existed.

Lunges are necessary because they allow you to train legs one at a time, which is challenging and forces new muscle growth. Isolated single leg training is an open secretLunges keep you lean and supple. Which is even more necessary in more times since we sit on our butt so much.

Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are one of the best exercises you can do if you are skinny fat. If you want to fix skinny-fat you need a wide back and broad shoulders. Pull-ups give you both.

You can get a pull-up bar on amazon for cheap. I know I said no equipment is required but adding an asterisk just looks fishy and confusing. In this case I ask your forgiveness, which you will probably grant once you see the glorious gains. Or you can chin ups on a tree branch which is basically nature’s pull up bar 

Rig your pull-up bar in a sturdy doorway. Do three sets of as many pull-ups as you possibly can. Perform wide grip pull-ups with an overhand grip. As well as close-grip pull ups with an underhand grip. Pull yourself up as high as you can each rep to engage the most muscle.

Dips

There are two types of dips. First, the tricep dip. Tricep dips can be done on a bench or chair. These are great for building your arms and shoulder.Just put your hands on the edge of the bench behind you and put your feet on the floor. then bend your elbow to lower your torso down. Press into the bench and extend your arms until they are locked out.

Second, there are chest dips. Dips are an amazing exercise for building up your chest and arms. You can get a dip rig from Amazon for a small amount of dough. It will pay for itself many, many, many times over. Your shoulders will look sharp and strong and your chest will look like a gladiator after a few months of dippin’. The dip rig will allow you to do inverted rows to build up your back, too.

These strength training exercises are important if you want to lose body fat while gaining muscle mass.

The faster you gain muscle mass and lose belly fat the faster you will transform your skinny fat physique. and the best way to do that is with strength training and varied resistance training. And doing it consistently over time.

At Home Skinny-Fat Workout Program

This skinny fat workout routine contains 5 workouts per week. There are two workouts; Workout A and Workout B. Perform them in alternating fashion.

• Monday – Workout A
• Tuesday – Workout B
• Wednesday – Workout A
• Thursday – Workout B
• Friday – Workout A

Start with Workout B the following week.

Take the weekends off to rest. Rest is important for recovery and gaining muscle.

Perform the reps for each exercise in as few sets as possible. This is a full body workout plan – the only kind that will actually help a skinny fat person.

Skinny-Fat Home Workout A (Bodyweight Only)

• Pushups – 20 reps total
• Situps – 20 reps total
• Pullups – 10 reps total
• Leg Lifts – 20 reps total
• Bodyweight Squats – 40 reps total

Skinny-Fat Home Workout B (Bodyweight Only)

• Dips – 20 reps total
• Planks – 60 seconds total
• Pullups – 10 reps total
• Leg Lifts – 20 reps total
• Lunges – 40 reps total (20 reps each leg.)

Skinny-Fat Workout Progression: How to Keep Getting Better!

Do as many reps as you can of each exercise. Then, the next workout, add 5 more reps for each exercises. Keep adding 5 reps to each exercise each workout, or at least week over week. Hold planks as long as you can. And try to hold them 5 seconds longer each workout/week.

If you can only do one push up that’s okay. Try to do five total pushups. Take all the time you need between reps to recover.

Your goal is to increase the number of reps you can do in a row without stopping for each exercises. So if you do 7 push ups in a row today, your goal is to do 8 push ups in a row next workout.

If you’re target for today’s workout is to get 25 pushups and you stop at 22 pushups in a row. Take a quick break and then finish the last 3 pushups as soon as you can.

Skinny-Fat Home Workout (body weight training)

I made this workout video for my skinny fat people out there. It’s an alternative workout for skinny-fat guys. (It’s still very effective.)

Skinny-Fat Home Workout with Dumbbells

Welcome to the second at home workout plan for skinny fat people. All you need to go from skinny-fat to fit with this plan is a pair of modest dumbbells.

Two simple weights will radically increase the exercises you can do. Your body adapts quickly and the variety of exercises you can do with dumbbells will ensure you’ve got a ton of new moves to keep making more muscle gains.

Dumbbells are great for bringing up weak points. They are also perfect for sculpting muscles into beautiful shapes.

Lifting weights will also accelerate the rate at which you can build muscle and get rid of visceral fat.

After doing bodyweight exercises for a while, you may want to add dumbbell exercises into your routine. Now that you have your dumbbells, you are ready to perform all the following exercises (in addition to the bodyweight exercises mentioned previously).

• Shoulder press
• Dumbbell rows
• Lateral raises
• Floor chest press
• Tricep extensions and presses
• Bicep curls

Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise. Incorporate shoulder press, dumbbell row and lateral raises into Workout A above and add floor chest press tricep extensions and bicep curls to Workout B.

Ideally, use a weight that’s heavy enough to where you reach failure at 10 reps. Meaning you couldn’t do 11 or 12 reps if someone bet you 1 million dollars. This is an advanced type of training. So work up to this level of intensity.

However if you only have one set of dumbbells you need to get creative. If you can’t increase your weight, increase the number of reps performed each set. Also slow down the reps so they take 4,5,6 even 7 seconds to complete one single rep. This vastly increases time under tension and will ensure you continually make progress.

Take each rep nice and slow and concentrate on the muscle being worked. As I mentioned before, continuous progress is key to get results.

Working out is a grind. But the small effort done daily accumulates. It compounds overtime to create great results. All it takes is small improvements in weight lifted every day to make a big difference over the span of a few months. Make sure you push yourself each workout. Always strive to do one more rep or one more set than last time.

That being said, you should track your workouts. Write down the exercises you do along with the number of sets and reps completed. If you use weights, note the weight used.

Refer to these notes during your next workout and one-up it.

Take a picture of yourself before you start your workout and diet. It’s amazing to see side-by-side photos of your progress and frankly the only way to know how far you’ve come.

Make sure to take a picture of yourself shirtless before starting a workout or diet.

Know where you began, and always strive to get a little better each day. This is the winning formula.

Concluding Remarks about Skinny-Fat Training at Home

This workout will vaporize your skinny-fat gut, and replace it with a nice, trim waist. Hell, you’ll even get a sculpted six-pack if you really commit to the program.

The rest of your body will transform, too. Watch as your bony shoulders grow into big broad shoulders like two big cannonballs as the cap to your arms.

Sounds like a pipe dream to you perhaps?

Well, if you never trained before that might be your attitude. But how do you know unless you try? Leave your excuses and reasons why not behind you in the dust as you blaze a trail to a new and improved you.

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to feel better, look better, and have more energy? All these good things and more are entirely possible for anyone, as long as you put in the work.

Skinny-Fat Home Workout Tips

Stay Warm – You want to burn calories to burn body fat quickly. One way to stay covered so you stay warm and sweat a lot during your skinny fat workout. Work up a good sweat each workout. Sweat means you’re burning calories and burning body fat. Staying warm also helps prevent injury, strains and pains by making your muscles more pliable.

Keep up the Pace – Do reps at a fast pace. This burns more calories and keeps your heart-rate up. Shorten the time that you rest between sets. This increases the intensity of your workout. Try to rest less than 60 seconds each workout. High intensity interval training is a perfect way to get rid of belly fat.

Don’t Quit! – you cannot fail if you do not give up. Like anything new, this will be hard. But it gets easier. And once you start see and feeling the results and the benefits fill your life you’ll be hooked. It’ll will become easier to workout than to not workout. It’s like a drug and it’s addicting AF in the best kind of way.

That’s it. Now just put the work in every day, keep your diet in check, and watch your body transform.

Need more inspiration?

Follow me on instagram @ironandgrit. I’m always cooking something up (literally). I also show how to do new exercises and workouts.

Take Your Physique to the Next Level with The Skinny Fat Solution

I have to keep the lights on around here so let’s cut to the chase, Friend:

I wrote a book called ‘The Skinny-Fat Solution‘ that has everything you need to go from skinny-fat to fit in the shortest time possible.

‘The Skinny-Fat Solution’ contains a full 12-week workout plan. Every exercises, set and rep is laid out for you. And I show you exacltrty how to perform each everysice.

It also comes with a full diet and nutrition plan that is proven scientifically and IN REAL LIFE to burn fat and build muscle.

Click the image of the book below to learn more.

Get ‘The Skinny-Fat Solution‘ and start getting fit today.

You Might Also Like:

The Ultimate ‘Skinny-Fat’ Workout and Diet Guide (2024 Edition) The Skinny Guy’s Guide to Gaining Weight, Size, and Building Muscle Only Suckers Skip Leg Day (plus a REALLY GOOD leg workout) Herschel Walker’s Workout Routine (Become a BEAST with Bodyweight Training)