Is this just poor stomach muscles?

Tasocahtfu

Tasocahtfu

Tasocahtfu

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I've been doing a free weights routine at the gym for around 6 months now, and have definitely noticed some good improvements in my physique. I used to be a really skinny runt through my college and uni days, but over the last couple of years I have put on a bit more weight, and everyone does tell me I look a lot healthier for it.

However, the one area I am really disheartened by is my stomach. I realise that I eat a lot more these days, but I don't really think I have a lot of fat around my waist. But my stomach still sticks out quite a long way, so much so that if I'm standing up straight but totally relaxed, I can barely see my feet. As a result I tend to walk round most of the time holding my stomach in, because I really hate the look of it.

But if I tense my stomach muscles there is hardly any fat to grab hold of at all? So is it just because my stomach muscles are really slack and they need working a lot harder? Or is this just how some body shapes are, and there is nothing I can do about it? My intention is to get my stomach back to being flat like it was a few years ago.
 
Firstly we all tend to get a bit bloated while bulking. It's just down to the sheer amount of food you are eating. It tends to go away when you start cutting.

If it's not that then the normal culprits are either poor posture or a weak transversus (the sheath of muscle underneath your abs that holds in your internal organs).

If it's the former than you likely have an S-shaped spine, there are things that can be done but I would recommend seeing your doctor about it.

If it's the latter then do a google for "stomach vacuums". It's a fantastic exercise for strengthening your transversus.
 
Hi GordyR

I'm don't thnk it's down to me eating that much more, as I had started to notice it more before I had started going to the gym again to be honest.

Poor posture may well be the problem, as I sit down most of the day now, whereas I used to be on my feet all day long. I'm fairly tall (6' 3") and have had a few slight problems with my back in the past, but nothing major, just the odd tweak here and there.

My posture is something I have been concerned about previously, and I was hoping doing a proper routine would help strengthen it up a bit. When you say there are things that can be done to aid an 'S'-shaped spine, what sort of things do you mean? I could post a picture later (nothing dodgy I promise) if that would help to show if that's what I have?

Thanks for the reply.
 
If your stomach hangs out yet you can see the muslces when you tense them then its unlikey there is much body fat there, not enough to stop you seeing your feet anyway.

Posture would be my bet, have you had any back problems? How hard are you training your back in comparison with the rest of your work out?

Edit - Just read your post, I would definatley consider posture to be the most likley cause based upon what you have said.
 
I have this problem as well and its down to my posture, my spine is slightly curved and causes my arse to kinda stick out:(. So i have to make an conscious effort to keep my arse in and walk upright, feels weird though. Because of my posture, my legs are slightly bent at the knee ie havent got straight legs when standing.

Been to the docs about it and tbh theres not much they can do other than suggest i keep my back straight at all times and try to sleep on my side or back. Its not nice growing up like that as i was teased pretty mcuh through school and high school. I wear baggy tops now to cover my belly and bad posture...like i said i know how u feel as i hate my belly but its not due to being fat...its down to my bad posture thats causing my belly to stick out like a bloated ethiopian:p.
 
AshM said:
When you say there are things that can be done to aid an 'S'-shaped spine, what sort of things do you mean?
Click to expand...

It's usually caused by an imbalance in strength between your abdominals and your lower back and hamstrings. Essentially you need to determine exactly where you weak link is and exercise the right muscles. Most people with this issue tend to have overly tight hamstrings and lower back muscles which tilt the pelvis in an unnatural way. Loosening these muscles and strengthening the abdominals is the only way to counter it as far as I am aware.

Please excuse the briefness of my reply but I am just on my way out. :)
 
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Nazbit -

Yes it would make sense that it would be a posture problem, but is that soemthing that can be corrected by doing enough training to make it stronger? Or is it not something that be fixed like that?

I see a really good osteopath occasionally, he has helped me with my back a few times when it has been painful or out of alignment, I wonder if he might be able to suggest something?


Spawn -

lol, yeah I know how you feel, it just really annoys me sometimes. I don't have the same problem as youw ith my legs or my behind to be honest, but my stomach really does stick out quite a bit. The thing that irritates the most is that when I pull my stomach muscles in, my stomach is flat like it used to be and there is hardly any fat there at all :mad:
 
GordyR said:
It's usually caused by an imbalance in strength between your abdominals and your lower back and hamstrings. Essentially you need to determine exactly where you weak link is and exercise the right muscles. Most people with this issue tend to have overly tight hamstrings and lower back muscles which tilt the pelvis in an unnatural way. Loosening these muscles and strengthening the abdominals is the only way to counter it as far as I am aware.

Please excuse the briefness of my reply but I am just on my way out. :)
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No problem, thanks for the info. I will probably post up a pic later on, would be grateful for any suggestions you may have.

Thanks again :)
 
AshM said:
Nazbit -

Yes it would make sense that it would be a posture problem, but is that soemthing that can be corrected by doing enough training to make it stronger? Or is it not something that be fixed like that?

I see a really good osteopath occasionally, he has helped me with my back a few times when it has been painful or out of alignment, I wonder if he might be able to suggest something?
Click to expand...

Its probably worth a try.

But how hard are you training your back in comparison with the rest of your body?

It may just be the case that you are not training your back enough (or correctly) which is causing an inbalance in your posture.
 
Nazbit said:
Its probably worth a try.

But how hard are you training your back in comparison with the rest of your body?

It may just be the case that you are not training your back enough (or correctly) which is causing an inbalance in your posture.
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Well the routine I am currently doing is one that the personal trainer at the gym drew up for me when I started going again. I was actually planning to make another thread this week about some help with a new one, as not only am I a bit bored of doing the same thing endlessly, but I can't help but wonder if the routine I am doing is not that great. I had never done free weights before, so I think the trainer probably started me off fairly gently. Here's a basic breakdown of what I do at the moment...


Monday - Chest & Triceps

Chest dips
Incline bench press
Standing cable fly
Narrow grip bench press (Smith)
Cable pushdown (with rope)


Wednesday - Back and Biceps

Barbell curl
Cable bent-over row
Assisted wide-grip pull-up
Cable curl
One resistance machine that works the back, can't remember the name, sorry :( Starts with arms over head and you have to push down with the backs of your arms?


Friday - Legs & Shoulders

Shoulder press (Smith)
Dumbbell lateral raises
Reverse cable fly
Squats
Calf raises
Leg curl exercise with Swiss ball


That any help? I realise this routine is probably very basic :(

Thanks for your help.
 
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GordyR said:
If it's the latter then do a google for "stomach vacuums". It's a fantastic exercise for strengthening your transversus.
Click to expand...

Best exercise I've ever done for getting my abs looking better :)
 
GordyR said:
do a google for "stomach vacuums". It's a fantastic exercise for strengthening your transversus.
Click to expand...

Tried these today, seem pretty good, almost passed out :o

Bit confused as to how many seconds to hold for each rep, and how many reps & sets to do though.

Any advice welcomed.

Cheers

Nige.
 
You have a hyperlordotic posture by the sounds of things but could possibly be swayback.
If you have a hyperlodotic posture your pelvis is anteriorly (forward) tilted. This causes the rectus abdominus (6-pack) and obliques to become elongated (which weakens them making your belly rounded). In this type of posture shortened or overactive hip flexors are often present (rectus femoris, Illiacus and Psoas major) and stop the pelvis tilting posteriorly (weak abs and glutes having to pull against tight/overactive hip flexors). In this instance as gordy states you want to be doing loads of trans ab work but also add some obliques, glutes and some hip flexor stretches. If you do lots of sit ups this could worsen the problem as poor technique=excessive hip flexor use > abs.
With swayback posture hip flexors and abs are elongated and weakened, glutes and lumbar spine extensors become overactive/tight. If your bum sticks out it is more likely you are hyperlordotic. Any more questions please feel free to ask.
 
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Euro_Hunter said:
Tried these today, seem pretty good, almost passed out :o

Bit confused as to how many seconds to hold for each rep, and how many reps & sets to do though.

Any advice welcomed.

Cheers

Nige.
Click to expand...


I'm also a little bit flummoxed. Are you supposed to sit for 20 seconds with no air in your lungs holding your stomach in? That's really blummin hard.
 
^^ No you can breathe but keep your lower stomach pulled in. A word of note the contraction should only be 20-30% of your maximum effort otherwise you start to recruit 'strength' muscles rather than 'stability' ones
 
Heres a diagram I knocked up using paint (I'm not 4 years old honest!):-
The pull of the tight/overactive muscles are highlighted by the red arrows. These cause the pelvis to rotate clockwise around its midpoint (the yellow dot). The blue lines indicate the muscles which are elongated/weakened (namely rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, glutes and sometimes hamstrings) so they cannot counteract the pull from the tight muscles. There is often associated overactivity in the lumbar spine extensors.

Hyperlordotic posture - muscle imbalance:-


With a swayback posture you stand more like this fellow:-
 
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In swayback posture you generally don't use much active musculature to keep upright, instead you rely on soft tissue tightness holding you up.
However in this kind of posture pattern again the obliques (external) tend to get elongated/weak as do some of the hip flexors. The kyphosis (rounding of the upper back) can also lead to elongated/weakened upper back extensors, mid trapezius and rhomboids. On the opposite side, the pecs tend to be tight, as are the hamstrings.
However, in this low-effort posture there is often a side-shift of the pelvis as individuals tend to stand with one leg straight and the other with the knee slightly flexed. So it does get a bit more complicated.
As far as exercises go trans-ab, oblique, mid traps, rhomboid, upper back extensor strengthening should be encorporated into your routine as well as hamstring and pec stretches. Also try to keep as good sitting posture as possible.
 
Delbuenno thanks for the reply, some really great information there.

Quite scary listening to it to be honest as a couple of things you have mentioned are things that I know I do, particularly the bit about usually standing with one leg straight and the other slightly bent. I do this almost all the time because it seems to feel more comfortable, does this mean I have a swayback posture?

I had my girlfriend take a couple of pics this morning and I'm almost too embarrassed to post them because it looks so gross. The first is with me standing normally, completely relaxed and holding nothing in at all, and as you can see my stomach sticks out considerably. When I first saw the pics I thought I was leaning back a bit, but having seen the diagram and picture you posted, I'm not so sure it isn't just how I stand. :(

The second is with my stomach muscles tensed and pulled in (but I'm not breathing in), which is how I tend to walk around all the time now, I don't even realise I'm doing it anymore. I tried to grab as much skin as I could in this picture but there isn't a lot there, so it's not that I'm just fat right?


back1.jpg
back2.jpg



Can't believe how bad my posture has got, seeing it like this is really shocking, shows just how poor it is.

So which do you think it is I am? Is this too bad to be corrected in your opinion, or is there always a way to sort it with enough work?

Really appreciate your help :)
 
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