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Fat or weak muscle?


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I am so confused by this. I am hardly 150 pounds at 5'10" and there is no fat anywhere. But my belly sticks out, it appears big. I don't know if it is fat since my body weight is quite low. So could it be weak muscle .... And can this muscle be tightened through ab exercises?

 

If it is fat, only diet and cardio will help. But I am not sure if it is fat....so I don't want to lose weight when I already weigh only 150. But if weak muscle, maybe I can strengthen it so it wouldn't hang out. So confused....

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I just love these fitness terminology's like "tightened", "tone", "sculpt", its the kind of language used to sell ab products on the shopping channels, of course none of them are true.

 

BA, are you measuring your bodyfat?

Are you cognizant of your calories in?

Are you consuming foodstuffs that bloat you?

 

When it comes to fat loss, strength training and a calorie deficit will help, "cardio" (another fitness term) contrary to popular belief is actually counter productive and a complete waste of time.

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I wouldn't worry about your waist getting slightly bigger mate, especially if your lats, shoulders, arms etc are also getting bigger. If you try to maintain a tiny waist your will retard the progress that can be made elsewhere. When Mike Mentzer won the 1978 Mr Universe with a perfect 300 point score (the only is BB history) he told me he had the biggest waist on the stage that night. Don't fret of it:)

 

As for insulin, I've found my insulin sensitivity has improved by slightly decreasing my carb intake and increasing fat intake.

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It could also be that that you have a anterior pelvic tilt which provokes your stomach to bulge out to the front of your body, since i adopted a proper posture with a posterior pelvic tilt my abdomen looks more flat and muscular even when i think my bf% remains the same.

 

I think you are confused since you said you have no fat anywhere, we all have fat and muscle in our abdomens but the amount of each one will determinate how our waist looks, try searching for examples of people with different body fat percentages.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi bodyartt - a few thoughts came to my mind when I read your question.

 

1) Have you ever been tested for food allergies or insensitivities? It may be possible that you are experiencing bloat and inflammation in your gastrointestinal system/gut and that is causing your stomach to push forward more. Inflammation can easily create a distended belly.

 

2) Have you had any surgeries that involved cutting into your abdominal wall? If so, abdominal dysfunction may have occurred causing a lack of neural drive to your core muscles - and ultimately, a "belly that sticks out".

 

3) It is also possible that you have weakness in your abdominal muscles, especially with your transverse abdominis, the deepest, innermost layer of abdominal muscles. I have written an article explaining the importance of working this muscle (and how to). If you would like to check out my article, you can go to: http://bamboocorefitness.com/the-transverse-abdominis-the-spanx-of-your-abdominal-muscles/ .

 

Core exercises like crunches and sit-ups do not work the deepest layers of abdominals... These exercises put more focus on your rectus abdominis muscles (your "6 pack" muscles). To hit the transverse, I recommend that you add exercises like planks, forward ball rolls, tummy vacs ("draw-ins" - http://bamboocorefitness.com/get-a-strong-core-with-the-lying-draw-in-maneuver-tummy-vacuums/), etc.

 

I hope this helps. Good luck! - Jennifer M. Regan, MovNat MCT, C.H.E.K HLC, NASM-CPT

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