Thikening waistline advice

[SEADRA]

I have been using resistance with my Abs for a couple weeks. My Stomache is very thick.It looks to thick compared to my lower half. What should I do to fix it? Regular Ab ex. Situps ect. using high reps?

[EME]

SEADRA,

Just as it does with your other muscle groups, resistance training your abdominal muscles will cause them to become larger.

If you are already thick waisted, you should probably avoid training your abs with additional resistance and instead focus on higher repitions with your bodyweight.

Resistance training for abdominals can be effective when a person needs to develop deeper "valleys" and higher "peaks" between their abs.

However, if you already have large abs, or a thick waist, resistance training your abs may only compound the problem.

My recommendation for you is to stick with cardio to burn the fat you may have, and focus on high rep ab work instead of resistance training.

- EME

[Emma-Leigh]

My recommendation for you is to stick with cardio to burn the fat you may have, and focus on high rep ab work instead of resistance training.

Maybe in a healthy individual but Sae is only 107 pounds and she is 5'6. She is already too small for her height and cardio is not going to help her add muscle mass.

Sea - Keep your cardio to a max of 2 days a week. You do not want to do more than this as it will just make gaining muscle that much harder and you still have a lot to add before you can be considered healthy.

Drop the weighted exercises if you must (I don't know if I would and I am also 'thick waisted'), but I would focus on building your leg size up to match your abs instead of trying to decreae the size of anything!!

[JLB001]

Myself, I do not do any weighted ab work. Most of the ab work I do is on the floor or on a bench and consists of crunch type work or leg raises.

[SEADRA]

Thanks. My legs are coming along slower thrn any other body part hopefully they will show improvment here soon.

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by SEADRA
Thanks. My legs are coming along slower thrn any other body part hopefully they will show improvment here soon.

I have the same problem - chicken legs, thicker waist, broad shoulders.

You have to be patient. Lift HEAVY and HARD and eat A LOT (esp on legs days) and let your legs recover well so do not max-out on the cardio!...

[EME]

I agree Emma-Leigh,

I didn't realize Sae was only 107 at 5'6".
Additional cardio will not help her achieve her goals at this point in time.

However, I can't imagine that her stomach is truly "very thick" at that height and weight. It is possibly a perception issue?
Maybe she just has significant ab development already compared to the rest of her body?

At any rate, Sae...
Make sure you are eating plenty of calories to fuel your body's growth and drop the resistance from your ab work until your body proportions are more in line with your goals.

Good luck with your training!

- EME


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Emma-Leigh
[B]Maybe in a healthy individual but Sae is only 107 pounds and she is 5'6. She is already too small for her height and cardio is not going to help her add muscle mass.

[Titania]

Great advice, Emma and EME. I agree totally.
Training your glutes and legs (and lats) with intensity, ie; heavy weight will give the illusion of a smaller mid section. Also, stay away from weighted oblique exercises too. They will make your waist look wider.

[narak]

Originally posted by Titania
Great advice, Emma and EME. I agree totally.
Training your glutes and legs (and lats) with intensity, ie; heavy weight will give the illusion of a smaller mid section. Also, stay away from weighted oblique exercises too. They will make your waist look wider.

I don't do weighted for my abs. However, I also wonder: it used to get fatigued say like 3 sets of 12, but now it's like 3 x 20. Is this a neverending number, and what do you think ?

[sweetbecky]

Stop training obliques for a while.

[spn]

I'm built bigger waisted as well ugh, I know it's genetically unchangeable but I get jealous of teeny waisted women but then again unless they are extremly fit they usually carry more in their booty and legs.

[Titania]

Originally posted by spn
I'm built bigger waisted as well ugh, I know it's genetically unchangeable but I get jealous of teeny waisted women but then again unless they are extremly fit they usually carry more in their booty and legs.

Oooh, I hear you on that one totally, Spn.
I keep justifying this by thinking that not having a teeny mid section means I have more muscle there and better ability for heavy lifts.
I back up my justification by looking at women like Jill Mills who've achieved what I want to achieve. Makes me feel much better........until I see another teeny mid section.

[alphafemale]

I'm also petite (5' 4", 110lbs, 12% bf) with a 27 inch waist. When I inquired about the cause of my waistline going from 25.5 to 27 inches even though my bodyfat was decreasing, I was told it was due to heavy deadlifts which increase the size of the spinal erectors. The advice I was given was to broaden my shoulders to make my waist look smaller. (Of course that's easier said than done).

[Hibiscus09]

I stopped doing regular deadlifts for the same reason -- I went pretty heavy -- I'm 5'3.5" and 119lbs. They definitely thickened me through the midsection. I do still do SLDLs.

SEADRA, you sound pretty small already, but definitely drop the weighted abs if you feel your waistline is too thick -- however, this does seem to be a perception problem more than a reality given your height and weight. What exactly does your waist measure? Mine is 25 inches -- after two lovely children -- and was 23 to 24 before that at a younger age (I'm 43). I have done some heavy weighted abs before and can't seem to make myself stop -- although I am trying to back off because my obliques have become a bit too developed.

Have you read the article by MsFit regarding stomach vacuums in the article section of this board? I've heard those are pretty effective.

[SEADRA]

Thanks I will check out her article.

I dont think it's a perception problem. I just think my legs are coming along slower then the rest of my body so my midsection seemsa little out of perportion. I've laid off the weighted ab ex. I dont know I really love working them with resistance. i'm going to see how things turn out over the next couple weeks. I'm also retaining allot off water from these meds I started so that probaly doesn't help.
Thanks for the input.

[jerzei]

I was wondering if water retention before a menstral cycle makes abs appear thicker than normal. I think that sometimes mine look okay, but then other times they look thicker and softer. I haven't really noticed what time of the month the changes occur, but I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed changes like this.

[ms chicago]

does anyone have any suggestions about whatelse can do to get my fat around my midsection to go down in a short amount of time beside for doing the general ab exercises? does anyone suggest lipo? by the way i have had 2 c-sections. it had be 8 years ago though. however i just got into the fitness game though. 1 year ago.

[weanbean]

does anyone have any suggestions about whatelse can do to get my fat around my midsection to go down in a short amount of time beside for doing the general ab exercises? does anyone suggest lipo? by the way i have had 2 c-sections. it had be 8 years ago though. however i just got into the fitness game though. 1 year ago.

Performing ab exercises isn't going to specifically target ab fat.Increased lean muscle mass will help burn more cals and in turn you will lose fat. So, continue to lift those weights. Also, what are you doing for cardio? Increasing my intensity really helped me burn extra middle fat. And watch your diet.

W

[ms chicago]

Performing ab exercises isn't going to specifically target ab fat.Increased lean muscle mass will help burn more cals and in turn you will lose fat. So, continue to lift those weights. Also, what are you doing for cardio? Increasing my intensity really helped me burn extra middle fat. And watch your diet.

W

i do one hour of cardio. the treadmill (intervals, 30 mins, stairmaster 15mins, elliptical last 15mins, sometimes jump rope, depends how i am feeling , i change up. sometime swim. i for sure get my cardio. every workout . i know that cardio is very important in part to losing weight. im just really upset and it depresses me about my midsection. how do you feel about lipo? for the midsection? or do you think i should just keep on the track that i am on? my man says that it is just going to take time. he is a personal trainer , his own business. he is the one who got me on the right track he has be in the fitness gym for 8 years now. beautiful stocky black man.

[weanbean]

Hi Ms Chicago

I have a good friend who just had lipo...She is really happy about the results. But, surgery is surgery. you have already had 2 c-sections which are performed under general anesthesia. and everytime you are put under general anesthesia your risks for complications increase. so, that is something to think about.

I don't remember how long you said you have been working out regularly, but for me it took me a long time before I saw results in my midsection.

For me it is strictly a diet issue. I need to watch what I eat. I swear, after one cheat meal my definition is gone and my pants are tighter.

Also, I have no proof on this, but I think a lot of how our body's store fat is attributed to genetics. How was you belly before the c sections?

W

[ms chicago]

Hi Ms Chicago

I have a good friend who just had lipo...She is really happy about the results. But, surgery is surgery. you have already had 2 c-sections which are performed under general anesthesia. and everytime you are put under general anesthesia your risks for complications increase. so, that is something to think about.

I don't remember how long you said you have been working out regularly, but for me it took me a long time before I saw results in my midsection.

For me it is strictly a diet issue. I need to watch what I eat. I swear, after one cheat meal my definition is gone and my pants are tighter.

Also, I have no proof on this, but I think a lot of how our body's store fat is attributed to genetics. How was you belly before the c sections?

W

hey weanbean, well to answer both of your questions, i have been working out now for 1 year. my belly before both kids, well i didnt have one. my diet is strict. i guess it is just going to take alot of exercise and time. actually i got come good and bad new yesterday at the gym. i had a body evalution test and i be where i want to be body wise , i have another 6 months to go , like i said to be where i want to be. the test result wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be, i have a big goal to work for and as motivated as i am, i will do it. i keep my nose in books ( for fitness and nutrition) and sites on the internet. i love this site , it is one of my favortises. bb.com has alot to offer, information wise. have a good day