abs...getting stronger and BIGGER?!?!?

kelsully

OK...so I admit, I don't really enjoy ab workouts. The ones I do "enjoy" work the obliques and I am desperate to have a defined waist...but here is the issue ...it seems when I work on toning my abs I seem to increase their size. I don't have a pre-ab workout waist measurement other than my pants but I think that while my abs are beginning to look more toned and less like I had 4 kids my waist seems to be thicker. I dropped about 25-30 lbs in the past 18 months...I ran a marathon and focused on training for that. I did some ab stuff but mostly just core strengthening through yoga. Since the marathon is completed for this year I have incorporated more circuit like workouts into my repetoire. I do Jackie Warner (a 40 min circuit + a 15 minute circuit) DVD, or 2 segments of 30DS at least twice a week now. That is more ab workouts than I had been doing before. From the front it looks good and some of my gross belly skin even looks better but from the side...I just don't know.

I have always had to be mindful of building bulk. I am a short woman and very lean at this point. If I don't pay attention I have a tendency, and always have, to bulk up a bit more than looks feminine on my frame I want to be strong and lean and tough but not masculine.

Is there anyway to get rocking abs without bulking them up?

kelsully

Oh.. I have not gained weight since the marathon...just working out a bit differently...still running from 20-30 miles a week too.

YeaILift

Lowering your body fat will make them more defined.

kelsully

definition is pretty good...body fat in a pretty decent range..they are bulking up....what do you think?

chris2991

I may have read this wrong but if it’s that your abs get bigger right after the exercise that’s pump which happens when ever you work a muscle. Plus like Yeallift said you need to lower your body fat to define your abs.

YeaILift

I would stop directly working your obliques. You are building muscle there and not targeting fat loss. That is why they are getting bigger in that area. Stick with exercises that directly target your core and not focus on obliques. I prefer weighted cable crunches personally.

If you upload a picture of your stomach from the front and sides it would be easier to tell what would help the most- working your core more or simply losing more bodyfat%

NoAdditives

I would try doing some Pilates. It focuses on strengthening muscles, but also lengthening them to give a longer, more fluid silhouette. Ballet dancers do it. The main focus is using the deepest abdominal muscles instead of the top layers of muscles. When you do most abdominal exercises you end up using the top layers of muscles (the ones that make the "six pack") and those do bulk up quickly. Using the deepest muscles strengthens your core and really tightens up your belly.

kelsully

I would try doing some Pilates. It focuses on strengthening muscles, but also lengthening them to give a longer, more fluid silhouette. Ballet dancers do it. The main focus is using the deepest abdominal muscles instead of the top layers of muscles. When you do most abdominal exercises you end up using the top layers of muscles (the ones that make the "six pack") and those do bulk up quickly. Using the deepest muscles strengthens your core and really tightens up your belly.

Thanks...I think I will focus more on core then crunches..that could be the ticket for me

kelsully

I would stop directly working your obliques. You are building muscle there and not targeting fat loss. That is why they are getting bigger in that area. Stick with exercises that directly target your core and not focus on obliques. I prefer weighted cable crunches personally.

If you upload a picture of your stomach from the front and sides it would be easier to tell what would help the most- working your core more or simply losing more bodyfat%

hubby might blow a gasket if I did that LOL...While I am sure there is fat to lose on my body I have gotten pretty lean. I exercise 6 days a week (7 when no one is looking) and typically stay under my maintenance plus exercise...I do eat some processed foods but have a pretty decent diet...I think to lose more fat I would have to go pretty extreme.... but I really appreciate the response...

YeaILift

hubby might blow a gasket if I did that LOL...While I am sure there is fat to lose on my body I have gotten pretty lean. I exercise 6 days a week (7 when no one is looking) and typically stay under my maintenance plus exercise...I do eat some processed foods but have a pretty decent diet...I think to lose more fat I would have to go pretty extreme.... but I really appreciate the response...

Buy a pair of $6 calipers and get an accurate reading of your body fat. If it isn't below ~22% then that is the main problem in my opinion.

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

kelsully

thanks wendy...there are just different body types out there...I have seen really thin people with awesome abs and I have seen the people with great definition etc that look like tootsie rolls...I already have a concave *kitten*...I don't need tootsie roll abs on top of that ...LOL