Best Workout Plan for Skinny Fat – Question

I am a 29-year-old male. My BMI is 24.5, but I am skinny obese, or skinny fat. Everyone keeps giving me advice on the best workout plan to fix my skinny fat, but it has only made me more confused. Bulk, cut, don’t cut, do cardio, don’t do cardio, do weightlifting but not calisthenics, calisthenics are ok, don’t eat carbs, eat high carbs…ahhhhhh!!!

I have access to a gym and I am willing to alter my diet as needed. I am very motivated and eager to do the hard work required. But I am just not sure what the right workout plan and diet are for me. How do I permanently get rid of my skinny fat?

Lack of Genetic Muscle Versus Excess Regular Body Fat – Best Workout Plan for Skinny Fat

Your confusion is common, unfortunately, as skinny fat misinformation and disinformation are widespread. Skinny fat is a lack of genetic muscle tissue (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Your images and data indicate that you are experiencing skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle) on your stomach, love handles, and lower back, at least. Which the current science indicates is relatively common (6).

The general confusion about skinny fat stems from the initial 2016 NIH definition of normal weight obesity (skinny fat). It states that skinny fat involves having too much/excess regular white/yellow body fat (common adipose tissue, body fat %) while within safe BMI (18.5 to 24.99). The problem with this initial definition — as much as science had to start somewhere — is that it directly violates The Standard BMI definition. Yes, there is no doubt that the accuracy of The Standard BMI is debatable, but its definition did not change after that initial 2016 NIH skinny fat definition. Thus, it is impossible to be within safe BMI and have too much/excess regular body fat.

You are not experiencing too much/excess regular body fat. You are experiencing underdeveloped/a lack of genetic muscle tissue; IE skinny fat. At a BMI of 24.5, by The Standard BMI definition, you do not have any excess regular body fat. You can, indeed, lose (cut) more regular fat and get all the way down to a minimum safe BMI of 18.5 if you want, but it will not magically make your underdeveloped/lacking genetic muscle tissue appear. Thus, losing (cutting) more regular body fat will not fix your skinny fat, but it can help reduce the appearance of skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle).

Adding Muscle Mass to Fix Skinny Fat

The best way to fix skinny fat is to add muscle mass to reduce it as much as possible. However, contrary to popular belief, body recomposition is not permanent (7, 2, 3). Adding muscle mass is not permanent. Just as losing (cutting) regular body fat is not permanent. At this time, there is no way to permanently recomp your body, although genetic science, like CRISPR, shows promise. Any muscle mass you add, you will have to maintain forever.

To successfully build muscle mass, weight lifting (8) is the gold standard. Other resistance exercises (9) like calisthenics (10), Pilates (11), yoga (12), and isometrics (13) can be viable options depending on how much skinny fat you are experiencing. Bulking focuses on adding significant amounts of muscle mass with proper diet, especially quality protein, and lifestyle (sleep, etc.), and is much more likely to be achieved with weightlifting. You can add weight (plates, barbell, etc.) to calisthenics, Pilates, yoga, and/or isometric exercises to improve your muscle gains.

As mentioned, your pictures indicate likely moderate skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle) on your stomach, love handles, and lower back, no less. You have access to a gym, so lift weights. Proper cardio does not cause skinny fat, but it can help burn more calories to lose regular fat and further reduce the appearance of skinny fat. That being said, improper cardio can cause muscle tissue loss and make any existing skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle) worse.

Best Workout Plan for Skinny Fat

Focus on a proper full-body weight training workout to keep muscles and body shape as symmetrical as possible. Here (14) are 40+ weight lifting, calisthenics, and isometric exercises that can help.

Specifically in terms of your skinny fat:

Stomach (Core) – seated cable crunches, weighted russian twists, cable twists, and the weighted plank (front) are good choices. Image examples can be found here (14) along with more stomach/core/abdominal/abs exercise options.

Love Handles (Core) – weighted russian twists, cable twists, weighted plank (front), and cable side crunch are good choices. Image examples can be found here (14) along with more love handles/core exercise options.

Lower Back (Core) – close-grip lat pulldowns (cables), seated cable row, pull-ups, and weighted russian twists are good choices. Image examples can be found here (14) along with more lower back/core exercise options.

Three days per week, every other day is optimal (how much time it takes is determined by the exercises you choose, how many, and how many sets & reps, no less). Do not overdo it. Your body can only handle so much and needs time to grow/repair/heal. Too much leads to overtraining syndrome and injury. Try and keep each session to 1 hour or less, especially the more intense the session.

Take the Scientific Exercise Quiz to better understand how healthy your resistance and cardio exercise routines are, so you can adjust them as needed:

Best Scientific Diet for Skinny Fat

As for diet, the best scientific diet (15) for skinny fat is a low-carb diet, specifically the Mediterranean Diet done low carb. Muscle burns more calories than regular fat or skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle — thin fat, cellulite), and the more skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle) you are experiencing, the slower your metabolism (16) and the more sensitive (17, 15) you are to sugar and starch carbs (blood glucose spikes), especially refined common in processed, fast, and junk food.

The more sensitive you are to sugar and starch carbs, the more prone (16) you are to insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, being overweight, and obesity (too much/excess regular white/yellow body fat). You are particularly vulnerable to excess regular fat anywhere you are experiencing skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle), especially the more severe it is.

Eat a proper, clean, whole food, low-carb (typically 50 to 150 grams or so of fiber-focused carbs) Mediterranean Diet (15) balanced in high-quality protein, fats, fiber carbs, vitamins & minerals (macronutrients), antioxidants (micronutrients), and clean water. For acute regular fat weight loss (15), down to 37 grams (no less than 30) of fiber-focused carbs in the short term (3 months or so). Get proper amounts (18) of high-quality sleep and keep stress to a minimum, at least. Avoid processed, fast, and junk food.

Feel free to ask further questions in the comments section below.

Take the Scientific Diet Quiz to better understand how healthy your diet is, so you can adjust it as needed:

References

1. Skinny Fat Science: What Is Skinny Fat?, July 26, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/what-is-skinny-fat/
2. Skinny Fat Science: Is Skinny Fat Genetic?, November 27, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/is-skinny-fat-genetic/
3. Skinny Fat Science: Is Muscle/Mass Genetic and How Does It Affect Skinny Fat?, November 20, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/is-muscle-mass-genetic-and-how-does-it-affect-skinny-fat/
4. Skinny Fat Science: Skinny Fat Is More Than Just Normal-Weight Obesity, April 2, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/skinny-fat-is-more-than-just-normal-weight-obesity/
5. Skinny Fat Science: Skinny Fat is a Lack of Genetic Muscle – Beyond Normal-Weight Obesity, August 13, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/skinny-fat-is-a-lack-of-genetic-muscle-beyond-normal-weight-obesity/
6. Fellow One Research: Body Type Science Research Data. https://www.fellowone.com/category/fellow-one-research/the-four-body-types/body-type-science/research-data/
7. Skinny Fat Science: How To Fix Skinny Fat. July 27, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/how-to-fix-skinny-fat/
8. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: Weight Lifting. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/weight-lifting/
9. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: All Resistance Exercises. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/all-resistance-exercises/
10. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: Calisthenics. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/calisthenics/
11. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: Pilates. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/pilates/
12. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: Yoga. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/yoga/
13. Skinny Fat Science: Video Category: Isometrics. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/video-category/isometrics/
14. Skinny Fat Science: Resistance Training for Skinny Fat – Weight Lifting, 40 Optimal Exercises (with Images), May 7, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/resistance-training-for-skinny-fat-weight-lifting-40-optimal-exercises-with-images/
15. Skinny Fat Science:; The Best Skinny Fat Diet, According to Science, July 29, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/the-best-skinny-fat-diet-according-to-science/
16. Skinny Fat Science: How Skinny Fat Affects Metabolism, August 7, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/how-skinny-fat-affects-metabolism/
17. Skinny Fat Science: Skinny Fat & Insulin Resistance, June 4, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/skinny-fat-insulin-resistance/
18. Skinny Fat Science: The Best Skinny Fat Lifestyle, According to Science, August 14, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/the-best-skinny-fat-lifestyle-according-to-science/