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  1. #1
    Registered User bookie54872's Avatar
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    Unhappy Distended Abdomen, Curious of best way (if one exists) to fix it

    Hi Everyone,

    To give you some background about myself:
    -28 years old
    -6'2'' and 170 lbs
    -body fat percentage of ~14-15% measured via tanita scale and accumeasure

    I exercise:
    -2x/week on an elliptical for about an hour
    -1 hour of pretty strenuous pilates/week

    Despite the above, I've developed a pretty uncomfortable distended stomach. What I mean by uncomfortable is that it's unpleasant to wear anything tight around it and I accordingly have to wear, generally, 36 inch pants pretty loosely over it. It doesn't seem to be bloat from food since this distension is pretty constant. I don't have amazing digestion, but even if I stick to a really really simple diet (even an elemental diet for weeks), it doesn't help the distension (i.e. passing gas / moving my bowels doesn't help that much either). This tends to make me think this is muscular in origin (though perhaps having slow/poor digestion may have contributed to this forming in the first place). Further, I have some trouble urinating, i.e. it's tough for me to get all my pee out and this difficulty seems to possibly be related to this distension (also, I've been down to as low as 9% body fat using the same measurement methods as above though this didn't help my distended abdomen).

    -Doing pilates might have made it slightly worse if anything. I've tried stomach vacuums, though they don't seem to have helped at all.

    -I've enclosed a few pictures and a video of my distended abdomen to give you guys a sense of the distension. In the video, I flex/vacuum in my abdomen during part of it to give you a sense of the range, though the full distended look is when my gut is relaxed. It doesn't seem to be fat, as I can't "pinch" any significant quantity on my gut.

    Pics:
    imgur.com/2WC1k.jpg
    imgur.com/ccj87.jpg
    imgur.com/k8FrA.jpg
    imgur.com/ulZJr.jpg

    Video:
    vimeo.com/11252511


    ------------

    I'm wondering what could be the cause of this and what I could do to fix it.

    Is there any benefit to using any sort of "waist trimmer"/corset type device or does that just end up weakening those core muscles instead of tightening/retraining them?

    Is there some optimal method to doing vacuums and/or am I substantially overbuilt/imbalanced in the way my core musculature has developed?

    Thank you guys
    Last edited by bookie54872; 04-27-2010 at 06:34 PM. Reason: just changed order of pics
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  2. #2
    Registered User medjen's Avatar
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    Could be Anterior Pelvic Tilt (google is your friend)

    If that's the problem, tight hip flexors are a big contributor.

    ETA: Not sure about the difficult urination. That'd be something to check out with your doc.
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  3. #3
    Registered User bookie54872's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by medjen View Post
    Could be Anterior Pelvic Tilt (google is your friend)

    If that's the problem, tight hip flexors are a big contributor.

    ETA: Not sure about the difficult urination. That'd be something to check out with your doc.

    fair enough, my back and posture seem to be pretty decent especially compared to the pictures I saw when I googled Anterior Pelvic Tilt -- do I look that "tilted" in my pics/video?
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    The BACKMAN DJAuto's Avatar
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    That looks primarily like excess fat. The lower stomach area is the primary fat deposition area for most men.
    Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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    Manlet Rep Chopzilla's Avatar
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    Look into stomach vacuums and planks. Doing stomach vacuums 3 times a week for me has greatly fixed my problem. Do you do any type of ab work as of now? And definetly see the doctor about your urination problem asap
    Just a manlet in need of reps!!
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  6. #6
    Registered User bookie54872's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by DJAuto View Post
    That looks primarily like excess fat. The lower stomach area is the primary fat deposition area for most men.
    what's the best thing I could do the address this if anything? --> I've been down to 9% body fat and it's not really any different

    do you think I'm just one of those people who just accumulates the majority of their body fat on the lower stomach?

    should I just try to get a lower BF% via integrating weight training and doing more cardio to aim for <7% BF?
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  7. #7
    Registered User millyman's Avatar
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    I know people gon booo this reply but try fasting for 3 days sounds like ur digestive system is backed up. It worked for me. U will be suprised the stuff that comes out of ur body when you let your digestive sytstem catch up.
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    Originally Posted by bookie54872 View Post
    what's the best thing I could do the address this if anything? --> I've been down to 9% body fat and it's not really any different

    do you think I'm just one of those people who just accumulates the majority of their body fat on the lower stomach?

    should I just try to get a lower BF% via integrating weight training and doing more cardio to aim for <7% BF?
    You were probably not at 9% body fat. The instrument is used is precise but not accurate. It can be an effective way to track progress but the absolute value is usually off.
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    Originally Posted by medjen View Post
    Could be Anterior Pelvic Tilt (google is your friend) If that's the problem, tight hip flexors are a big contributor.
    It does look like APT in those pics but I'm not sure, does that cause distended abdomen? I usually find the abs stretch out since your back gets cramped from it.
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    Originally Posted by millyman View Post
    I know people gon booo this reply but try fasting for 3 days sounds like ur digestive system is backed up. It worked for me. U will be suprised the stuff that comes out of ur body when you let your digestive sytstem catch up.
    Yeah I'm not a fan of this. You'll lose muscle, and be weak as a kitten after three days. If his digestive track is getting backed up then he could eat less over many days and try to equalize. However, taking into consideration his age and gender. A distended belly is probably just excess fat that would be taken care of with diet and cardio.
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    The BACKMAN DJAuto's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bookie54872 View Post
    what's the best thing I could do the address this if anything? --> I've been down to 9% body fat and it's not really any different

    do you think I'm just one of those people who just accumulates the majority of their body fat on the lower stomach?

    should I just try to get a lower BF% via integrating weight training and doing more cardio to aim for <7% BF?
    Cardio and proper diet. Also, targeting the abdominals directly (if you don't already) will probably help greatly.
    Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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  12. #12
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    if you have health insurance go see a doc that specializes in sports medicine,get the xrays and the mri and if you have posture/pelvis alignment issues they can get you into physio to start fixing that,if posture isnt the case the doc should at least be able to point you in the right direction

    btw it does appear to be bodyfat at the bottom of your stomach,but you may have slight posture problems in the hips causing your stomach to push out a bit

    try going on a strict cut and get the water out as well and see where you're at
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    try stomach vacuums , Elliot Hulse has a good video for them. Posture while seated is key too.
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    Have you recently lost weight ? Those stretch marks on your side imply that.

    If you have, it may just be excess skin.
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    This sounds like it could also be visceral fat (i.e. fat accumulated around the liver and organs). When people get fat, only a relatively thin layer accumulates underneath the skin while the majority of it actually accumulates around the liver and organs.



    This can make the midsection rigid and even painful to the touch as well as being an overall health threat.

    The good news is that this will go away as you continue to drop body fat, and if you suddenly overhaul your diet to be extremely healthy you may drop visceral fat first.

    It may be worth your effort to look into doing stomach vacuums as well. Good luck.
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