Skinny fat is a term thrown around in the fitness world a lot, and correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t make much sense. How can you be skinny and fat?!
Well, Igor from VitruvianPhysique wants to share his knowledge on the subject and teach you how to fix it. Let’s see what he has to say.
About the Creator – Igor Opeshansky
If you’re not familiar with his name, you might recognize the YouTube name – VitruvianPhysique. With more than 500k subscribers, it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about lifting. The natural bodybuilder competitor also has around 100k followers on Instagram.
Igor hails from Latvia but quickly moved to the USA to pursue his dream in the fitness and health industry.
With a BSc and a double major in Human Physiology and Economics, you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking he was in the perfect position to build a career around fitness – and so that’s what he did.
He’s competed in various natural bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions and has done rather well! Igor is also very honest about being natural and wants to create a clear idea for youngsters about what’s possible.
His YouTube channel revolves around giving clear and honest advice about how to make the best of your physique.
Skinny-Fat Solution Overview
The Skinny-Fat Solution was created to solve a very simple problem – to help individuals with low muscle and high fat, hence the term “skinny-fat.” You’re skinny because you have no muscle, and the fat on your body makes you look… fat.
This skinny-fat starter pack explains it all:
- Fitness level: Beginner
- Duration: 21 weeks
- Workouts per week: 3 – 4 workouts per week
- Average workout duration: 30 – 60 minutes
- Equipment needed: Full gym and minimal equipment
- Goal: Build muscle and lose weight
The whole program is split into three distinct phases – a Home Workout Phase, a Fundamentals Phase, and a Progression Phase. Each phase has a specific lifting pattern and style to get you specific results.
Along with this, you’ll get an extremely detailed diet plan. This includes macros, food lists, meal plans, education, and really everything you need to succeed. That’s one of the first things you’ll notice – the amount of information given is staggering.
Skinny-Fat Solution by Vitruvian Physique Details
Now, this program has two overarching goals: Build muscle and lose fat. Those might seem counterintuitive, but Igor gives the specific scenarios where this would be possible – such as with beginners.
The Training
As mentioned, each phase will focus on different goals, and therefore, your lifting style will be different in each phase.
For instance, in the Home Workout phase, you’ll be progressing linearly since you only have body weight to work with. Moving onto the Fundamental Phase, you’ll be doing the heavy and basic compound movements.
Even within phases, the programming explores various types of progressive overload, whether that literally means “use more weight” or something as simple as switching isolation movements for compound movements.
Igor also slowly introduces lifting terminology so as to not overload you with information from the get-go. For instance, you only really start using the RPE scale in month 5 … because it’s really hard for beginners to judge what RPE 10 really is.
He does seem to favor volume ever-so-slightly more than he does intensity, and I think for beginners, that might be a very good call. After all, beginners simply don’t know what failure or a high-intensity set is, and volume might be better for them.
He then goes on (and on) about a million other things, such as:
- Building your own split
- Breaking through plateaus
- Managing injuries
- Managing muscle imbalances
- Beginner vs. advanced training differences
These are all the things we tend to learn over the years, and he’s nice enough to put everything into one file! This is honestly really awesome. I love this.
The Diet Plan
As you might expect, trying to lose fat and build muscle at the same time is hard. It’s a lot easier, though, when you consider the fact that you can manipulate your calories and macros for the best results.
This is exactly what Igor is trying to help you with within the Skinny-Fat Solution. Unlike other coaches who try to sell you something or spread misinformation, I don’t think I’ve read a single nutritional claim by Igor that was false. The man does not miss.
He follows a pretty simple plan of “what works for you works for you,” which is the way it’s supposed to be. Nutrition isn’t one size fits all, and while there are guidelines along things like protein, etc., he doesn’t approach anything in a dogmatic sense – rather refreshing, in my opinion.
This is really all the info you need on dieting – and more. If you still fail to lose fat or gain muscle with all this info, then you simply need to work harder.
4 Skinny-Fat Solution Program Pros
- All the info you need is included in this plan. If you take a good few hours to sit and learn, read, and listen, you’ll basically be set for life.
- Combinations of lifting techniques make the plan a lot more fun for most individuals, and there’s still enough progressive overload to help you gain muscle.
- The diet is basically perfect, based on science, and there are zero pseudoscience claims to convince you to buy something else.
- It’s a long program! Often, we see “get shredded in 12 weeks!” and, to be frank, that’s not enough time to get ripped from skinny (or skinny fat). It’s refreshing to see a plan that lasts months instead of a few weeks.
Skinny-Fat Solution Workout Cons
Nope, there’s not a single one. This plan is damn well near perfect.
Vitruvian Physique’s Skinny-Fat Solution – Final Thoughts
It’s not often a plan scores 5 out of 5. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve scored any plan this high. I’m sure if you dig hard enough, you might find small problems here and there.
But Vitruvian Physique’s Skinny-Fat Solution plan is amazing.
There are no false promises, pseudoscience, or sales tactics – just black-on-white scientific accuracy! Better yet, he even gives you the tools to progress once this plan is done.
I would spend folding money on this plan.
Rating: 5 out of 5
