Can working out make your stomach look bigger?

Sometimes is a proportional thing. I tend to shed fat in my shoulders and chest first, then my upper legs and arms, and finally my stomach. So as the other parts start to look more fit, my gut can look worse in comparison to when I was just a fatty blob all over. Basically I can walk around with my shirt unbuttoned halfway to the navel, but can't take the shirt off lest I be asked to leave the beach. Eventually it evens out tho.

Note: I'm in no way saying that spot reducing is possible. What tends to happen is that the fat goes on in a certain order and tends to come off in a reverse of that order. I have no control over the order.

absolutely! its called barrel stomach. this typically happens when you are building up your ab muscles. this is a good thing because the more muscle you have the more fat it will burn around your abs. the many reason is you maybe going heavy on your ab crunches if you are using wieghts. if so, you may want to go lighter and and more reps. one good thing is that the more you work your abs you will start to notice more definition which is good. give your body time to adjust to the increase of lean muscle mass . also, if you are noticing any lose skin at all up the weight of your ab crunches and lower the reps.. this is an issue for me and i went heavier with fewer reps and everything lightened up.

is your stomach protruding all day or at certain time? for example after ab routine or cardio. if its after your ab routine all it is is the pump meaning you have a lot of blood flow to your abs. if it is after cardio like running or anything on an incline your abs were getting a work out as well.

hope this helped

Sometimes is a proportional thing. I tend to shed fat in my shoulders and chest first, then my upper legs and arms, and finally my stomach. So as the other parts start to look more fit, my gut can look worse in comparison to when I was just a fatty blob all over. Basically I can walk around with my shirt unbuttoned halfway to the navel, but can't take the shirt off lest I be asked to leave the beach. Eventually it evens out tho.

Note: I'm in no way saying that spot reducing is possible. What tends to happen is that the fat goes on in a certain order and tends to come off in a reverse of that order. I have no control over the order.

This sounds exactly right; your overall proportions are changing, and this happens to be a non-flattering stage of your journey. Abs are a set of very small muscles, so they don't really get big enough to protrude that much.

My opinion on this is that specific ab work is a waste of time if you still have considerable fat to lose- except if you have some need for additional core strength. Your time would be much better spent strength training big muscle groups by doing compound movements that engage your core- like squats for example, or pushups, pull ups for the back. Those movements promote fat loss all over and work the core at the same time. If you're going to do ab work, the captain's chair is the best bang for your buck. But doing ab work won't make your stomach flatter or define your abs until you've lost the fat on top.

Edit- I'm not saying not to do any of it- all strength training has some value, it's just I see people spend a lot of time on it, when the time could be better spent elsewhere for better results.

Totally agree. Perhaps cut your ab/core work by 75% and spend that extra time on shoulders and legs? Because you know wha makes a stomach look more narrow? An excellently V tapered body that has a shapely middle bookended by great looking thighs/glutes and toned shoulders/back.

And although it's technically possible grow your abs and core muscles so much that they are outsize to your body, I don't think you've put in the time (years and years) and effort (1000's and 1000's of pounds moved) for this to be the case.

Maybe water weight??

This is me right now, too. Makes me want to stop working out/gaining weight, actually. Super discouraging.

absolutely! its called barrel stomach. this typically happens when you are building up your ab muscles. this is a good thing because the more muscle you have the more fat it will burn around your abs. the many reason is you maybe going heavy on your ab crunches if you are using wieghts. if so, you may want to go lighter and and more reps. one good thing is that the more you work your abs you will start to notice more definition which is good. give your body time to adjust to the increase of lean muscle mass . also, if you are noticing any lose skin at all up the weight of your ab crunches and lower the reps.. this is an issue for me and i went heavier with fewer reps and everything lightened up.

is your stomach protruding all day or at certain time? for example after ab routine or cardio. if its after your ab routine all it is is the pump meaning you have a lot of blood flow to your abs. if it is after cardio like running or anything on an incline your abs were getting a work out as well.

hope this helped

I run for 25-35 minutes and do cardio after it for 5 minutes and I'm going through the same. Is it a good sign in my case?