Greg Kovacs: Why Bodybuilders Get Distended Stomachs & How to Prevent It!

[ResovoirDog]

Big, distended guts! If there's one topic that I get asked about all the time, it's stomach distention. This is a phenomenon that has been prevalent in bodybuilding for decades. It isn't just limited to the professional ranks; it's a problem with amateur bodybuilders as well. I am going to take the bull by the horns and discuss the factors that I feel have caused stomach distention in both myself and others. Learn from other's mistakes and incorporate it into your own protocols.

Stomach Stretching:






I feel the chief culprit in my own distention was the quantity of food I had been eating. Let's put this into perspective, I was eating enormous volumes of food in my quest to be the first 400 pound bodybuilder. I was consuming 800g of protein, countless carbohydrates and all the fat that came with that food; it was all food, I didn't use shakes. There was no off switch to the eating; there couldn't be. It follows that, as a direct result of the volumes of food that I was consuming, my stomach stretched and appeared distended. My stomach lining, under all that pressure, was forcing my abdomen to protrude and over extended periods of time my abdominal muscles started to force outward as opposed to in. The lesson that I would humbly impart to competitive bodybuilders is that you should eat just enough to be in a surplus. Do not try to bulk up too much in the off-season. Additionally, I would strongly recommend that you be cognoscente of any food allergies, i.e. gluten. I never realized it, but I have gluten intolerance and it caused a lot of bloating and discomfort.

Neglecting Core Training & Heavy Lifting:

I was a silly bastard back in the day. I had the audacity to use my bloat for stability; you've probably done it before too. In my estimation, lifting heavy and not focusing on pulling in my abdominal muscles contributed greatly to my distention. I would think that it plays a factor with many bodybuilders. I performed some heavy lifts regularly with no regard to keeping my abdominal wall tight, rather I let it out. It wasn't as stylish as it is now to pay attention to your core muscles. There were no BOSU balls or heavy emphasis on core training, we didn't think about it. I never gave any thought to strengthening my core along with the rest of my body. I was flat out old school – ab training was for women and right before a contest. Unfortunately, I was wrong. This is one of the main reasons for herniated belly buttons. Iron freaks don't want to waste time training abs, we want to lift heavy but it comes at a price. As we build all that muscle and neglect our transverse and supportive muscles in the abdominal girdle, something will give out. And, when it does, it is those muscles that cause the herniated belly button. I have one still, but since I have been incorporating core work, I am finding that it is flattening out dramatically. I'm not going to sit here and name names, but flatly, do core work and keep your abdominal wall strong. It will pay off on stage dramatically.

Structure:

There is something that none of us can really control and that is the structure that we are born with. Some of us are gifted, others are not. Structure also effects waist thickening and distention. I think most people have found that athletes with short torsos and longer legs have these issues much more commonly than a long torso, short legged bodybuilder. I happen to have a short torso. Some others that have a short torso are Ronnie Coleman and Kai Greene. I don't know if you have noticed, but we all have had issues with distention. Kai is getting his distention virtually gone through hard work and becoming aware of it.

I'm sure that you all know that drugs have a place in causing distention. I don't really need to get into that, it is common knowledge. The thing is, I believe that it only has a small role in distention. If it was a huge cause of distention then every pro bodybuilder would have huge distention. There is never one reason for a problem in bodybuilding or in life in general. It is much easier to blame it on drug use than to sit back and fully analyze the situation. I hope this article helps some guys out there battling with this issue and that they find some of the information useful in reversing the process. There are definitely ways to minimize the effect. The key to bodybuilding and this problem is to be honest with what you see happening in the mirror. If you see that your stomach is becoming distended, do something about it, don't let it get out of hand. Don't willfully ignore the problem, it won't go away and it will get worse. Be honest with yourself as a bodybuilder, tear through your ego and really take a look. If you are looking distended, do something about it. It won't go away by itself and it doesn't look good.


http://www.rxmuscle.com/articles/lat...revent-it.html

[MAX.MAREK]

SLIN ABUSE is one of the main reasons in distended guts.

[wessmen]

Sure, food is one factor.
hGH is another, causing organ-growth, remember they aint doing it because of anti-aging, to get NEW fibers, you gotta go up.
Slin is causing visceral fat.

Only because of food, lols.

[BartPimpson]

What a waste of an article.

[AlMuminoon]

Greg Kovacs vs Sonbaty

I remember their shi*ty articles about staying over at each other's houses.....like 2 fighting school girls.

F*ck those two!

[boyoboyo]

SLIN ABUSE is one of the main reasons in distended guts.

I laugh when you pop up in threads claiming to know it all on the drugs side, but really your clueless.

[Flek]

I think the only person that could write that article would be George Farah.

**** Kovacs he looked like **** from every angle. He was just brought back to light because magazines wanted him to hit on Nasser. Nasser was right about him.

[d16daily]

**** Kovacs he looked like **** from every angle. He was just brought back to light because magazines wanted him to hit on Nasser. Nasser was right about him.

Thank you, but I do not need to see him **** from every angle.

[Ovillaz]

Sure, food is one factor.
hGH is another, causing organ-growth, remember they aint doing it because of anti-aging, to get NEW fibers, you gotta go up.
Slin is causing visceral fat.

Only because of food, lols.

wat do u mean new fibers??

[NickM205]

If HGH caused the bloated guts, why do the bloated guts disappear when guys retire? If the HGH caused new tissue growth?

Its visceral fat storage (fat between organs pushing against the abdominal wall) which comes from (in part) slin use/abuse.

Its really as simple as that. IMO. Believe what you want about HGH causing organs to grow like weeds lol

[geneticgamer]

Wa Kovacs really as strong as he claimed? Always wondered that in disbelief.

[OtisBDriftwood]

I think the only person that could write that article would be George Farah.

**** Kovacs he looked like **** from every angle. He was just brought back to light because magazines wanted him to hit on Nasser. Nasser was right about him.

[BartPimpson]

If HGH caused the bloated guts, why do the bloated guts disappear when guys retire? If the HGH caused new tissue growth?

Its visceral fat storage (fat between organs pushing against the abdominal wall) which comes from (in part) slin use/abuse.

Its really as simple as that. IMO. Believe what you want about HGH causing organs to grow like weeds lol

That does happen though, I think. Didn't they autopsy Andreas Munzer and his heart was hypertrophied to twice its normal size?

[edward303]

That does happen though, I think. Didn't they autopsy Andreas Munzer and his heart was hypertrophied to twice its normal size?

The heart does change size due to weight training, without any added anabolics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_ve...ar_hypertrophy

GH and Insulin when coupled with aas are meant to increase organ size.

[cramron]

pure bro science post: getting carried away with mass eating and neglecting fibrous foods can cause a massively constipated person. High volumes of red meat and eggs cheeses and protein powders can really slow the intestines down. Maybe some pros just neglect the intestinal flush before contests. Maybe they have many pounds of undigested bulk in their intestines.

I mean we all saw what Coleman ate leading up to his big wins. Sure he ate like a horse but do we really believe RC was eating salads avocados nuts oats rice etc to clean his intestines out? No he was eating potato wedges and chicken and grits like a madman. It adds up in your intestines

[edward303]

Tony Freeman loves those enimas.

[buckeye185]

pure bro science post: getting carried away with mass eating and neglecting fibrous foods can cause a massively constipated person. High volumes of red meat and eggs cheeses and protein powders can really slow the intestines down. Maybe some pros just neglect the intestinal flush before contests. Maybe they have many pounds of undigested bulk in their intestines.

i find this hard to believe. pro's typically eat very high-fiber carb sources (vegetables, sweet potato, oats, brown rice, etc) and in large amounts, so i don't think fiber intake is an issue. and fatty foods do slow gastric motility a bit, but that slowing occurs in the small intestine as monoglycerides and free fatty acids achieve equilibrium between micelle formation and breakdown and free monoglycerides and fatty acids suspended in solution are absorbed into intestinal villi and reform into triglycerides. if that gastric motility inhibition occurred in the LARGE intestine it'd be a bigger deal, because the large intestine is where the sodium and water are pulled from fecal material (chilling too long in the large intestine causes it to harden, making it harder to defecate, and the process compounds on itself). but i don't believe fat intake inhibits the mass movements in the large intestine or the ensuing defecation reflex

[pinjo]

This article is not only right, but it is extremely precise to details. I know several cases incorporating exactly the same factors pointed out by Greg.

[ROMMYromboid]

Thanks for posting RD,

I am sure what Kovacs said is right in his case, but guts were almost un heard of pre 1995. In the 1980's no guts on stage. Also bodybuilders ate huge amounts of food back then.

Tom Platz had a short torso and ate buckets of food but no gut.

To rule out drugs as being a KEY factor we would have seen guts in the 1970' and 1980's. I would like to know a history of which drugs were phased in and when and where first. This might help us eliminate it from this mystery of bodybuilding.

[SammyJr]

wait so if I continue to eat huge amounts of food to where I'm always bloated, I'll eventually develop a gut and my ab shape will change?

[SamTek]

That does happen though, I think. Didn't they autopsy Andreas Munzer and his heart was hypertrophied to twice its normal size?

That all had to do with the rediculous amount of fat burners he was taking (extremely increased heart rate), not HGH.

The guts come purely from Slin abuse. It has nothing to do with HGH or how big you get in the offseason.

[wessmen]

wat do u mean new fibers??

Hyperplasia and mitogenesis.

[bongd]

Pretty candid. Too bad he didn't recognized this as he was doing it to himself.

And to all the knuckleheads screaming SLIN!!!, GH!!!... yes, PEDs are pivotal but unless you're consuming massive amounts of food nothing will happen. The obscene amount of food is one of the bigger mitigating factors. You don't need to remind everyone that pro bodybuilders are on drugs. It goes without saying.

[MarcinPB]

Did not need to see him naked...

[Deano87]

Biggest BS article ever*





*Reference's to BS in the above sentence may refer to either of the following:

- Bro Science
- Bull ****

[pinjo]

Biggest BS article ever*





*Reference's to BS in the above sentence may refer to either of the following:

- Bro Science
- Bull ****

Did you ever eat 4 lbs of food in a single meal? Where do you think this amount should be accomodated?

[Groggery]

Did you ever eat 4 lbs of food in a single meal? Where do you think this amount should be accomodated?

I have, you might not be able to do a vacuum but it doesn't make your stomach stick out uncontrollably. It ain't the food.

[swole-striation]

lol at greg thinking us fanatics about pro bb would believe this nonsense.

[BOUNTYHUNTERMK2]

[ROMMYromboid]

Did you ever eat 4 lbs of food in a single meal? Where do you think this amount should be accomodated?

Tom Platz ate a lot and did not have a gut, Vic Richards also had no sign of a gut despite eating huge amonts of food. What this thread needs is evidence of 1980's and Golden era bodybuilders with guts, and also evidence of their relative food intake.