contracting stomach muscles

[Geoff Richards]

my stomach looks a lot better if I contract my stomach muscles.Now,I have still have the same layer of fat and of course would look even better if that was gone but my question relates purely to the contraction of these muscles.

I was going to ask if there was a way to keep these muscles contracted all the time but then started thinking about keeping any muscle under contraction and that doesn't seem to make any sense.

I'm having trouble typing exactly what I am thinking but it seems my gut 'falls down' unless kept under contraction and I would like to know what to do about it.

hope it makes sense

Geoff

[Sisyphus67]

I think this may answer what you are asking.

When I was young I was a chubby kid. Around age 10 or 11 I complained about being such. Someone told me that Aunt so and so says "to just hold your stomach in". Fast Forward 30+ years later and I still do it a good portion each day. What has it gotten me - a real nice set of abs When I'm lean. It has become second nature to me after all these years but I'm sure you can train yourself to do the same.

[IronCharles]

A lot of the problem with a protruding stomach has to do with the amount of visceral fat you carry. Visceral fat is the fat stored inside the abdominal cavity, around the intestines and other organs. Some people, like me for instance, store fat internally first. And when there is enough of it built up, it tends to push out on our abs from the inside. When we flex our stomach, it compresses the fat within, but the weight of the fat will press back and make us want to relax the ab wall. If you've ever punched or poked a fat person in the stomach and been surprised how hard their belly was, then you will understand that you are touching a solid wall of muscle that has most of the fat behind it, not in front.

When I dieted and cut for the first time, I was amazed how much easier it was to keep my stomach slightly flexed, without all that mass working against my abs from the inside!

[paulb72]

It's the tranverse abdominals that controls your ability to hold in your stomach. These are located under the rectus abdominus muscles and the obliques and as the name suggests run transversely (across the abdomen).

They can be trained to tighten them up and give you that look you are after

A quick search found a few exercises check these out
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...rse+abdominals
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...inus+exercises

The stomach vacuums are working for me, after a while "holding it in" becomes more natural, as the muscles develop more strength

[Geoff Richards]

Originally Posted by Sisyphus67

I think this may answer what you are asking.

When I was young I was a chubby kid. Around age 10 or 11 I complained about being such. Someone told me that Aunt so and so says "to just hold your stomach in". Fast Forward 30+ years later and I still do it a good portion each day. What has it gotten me - a real nice set of abs When I'm lean. It has become second nature to me after all these years but I'm sure you can train yourself to do the same.

thanks,
do you find yourself still having to *think* about holding these muscles and if you dont hold them does your belly sag ?

Originally Posted by IronCharles

A lot of the problem with a protruding stomach has to do with the amount of visceral fat you carry. Visceral fat is the fat stored inside the abdominal cavity, around the intestines and other organs. Some people, like me for instance, store fat internally first. And when there is enough of it built up, it tends to push out on our abs from the inside. When we flex our stomach, it compresses the fat within, but the weight of the fat will press back and make us want to relax the ab wall. If you've ever punched or poked a fat person in the stomach and been surprised how hard their belly was, then you will understand that you are touching a solid wall of muscle that has most of the fat behind it, not in front.

When I dieted and cut for the first time, I was amazed how much easier it was to keep my stomach slightly flexed, without all that mass working against my abs from the inside!

good points Charles
In your pics I can see you have done good work on your diet but still it seems you are trying harder to hold your gut in,or is it the pic that is deceiving me ?
Do you still suffer from 'gut fall' ?

Originally Posted by paulb72

It's the tranverse abdominals that controls your ability to hold in your stomach. These are located under the rectus abdominus muscles and the obliques and as the name suggests run transversely (across the abdomen).

They can be trained to tighten them up and give you that look you are after

A quick search found a few exercises check these out
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...rse+abdominals
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...inus+exercises

The stomach vacuums are working for me, after a while "holding it in" becomes more natural, as the muscles develop more strength

Interesting posts,thanks.
I did search on muscle contraction but did not know about transverse muscles

[IronCharles]

Originally Posted by Geoff Richards

good points Charles
In your pics I can see you have done good work on your diet but still it seems you are trying harder to hold your gut in,or is it the pic that is deceiving me ?
Do you still suffer from 'gut fall' ?

I would say about the same effort. When my wife took the picture, she kept saying "Suck it in! Suck it in!" and I kept saying "I am sucking it in!" There's a lot less effort involved in flexing your stomach when your gut is not filled with fat!

There's a pic in my progress section that shows me actually trying to push my stomach out! Looks funny!

And notice here after 2 months from the first picture, how you can see my abs, but there is still fat inside pushing out:



Also, in the first comparison pic, I was going for a vacuum, not a flex. Here is a flexed picture from the same day:



Sorry if there was any confusion!