Working out & expanding waistline!

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naku
naku Posts: 109 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!

I have been working out 5-6 times a week for the past 2,5 months. My main goal has been mostly just "toning" up and making my body more tight and pretty to look at.
I first started out with the Butt Bible (recommended!) but now for the past 3 weeks I have done the basic program from You Are Your Own Gym (highly recommended!!!). Even though I do normally at least 2 days worth of exercises from the book per day...

Overall I have been really happy with the results, my body seems to be easy to mould and has really changed a lot during such a short period of time. I have visible abs, my butt has reached heights that I never knew it could, my back is looking really nice, thighs are tight and cellulite free. Overall you could just say that I look pretty darn good naked.

The problem is this:

I have always been a really prominent hourglass shape which I love. But as I have been working out, 1st of all my hips have lost a lot of their width... Since my butt has grown like a balloon, my hip measurements have stayed the same but if you look at me from the front, my hips very clearly have ended up a lot more narrow... And I'm not too keen on this.

Also, my waist that has always been farily small, has now gone up one inch! That one inch came after starting You Are Your Own Gym and gaining those visible abs.... not keen on this AT ALL!!!!!


I normally average about 1400 calories per day/week. I'm 5'7 and currently weight 138lb since going up 3-4lb from when I started my work-out routine.

The obvious answer would be that I'm gaining fat but somehow I doubt it based on just looking at my body.... But if that's the case, I guess I need to lower my calories to 1200?

Or should I just start skipping all my work-outs that affect my obliques...?

I don't want to end up looking like a (really tight and toned) blob with their waist and hips almost the same width!

Replies

  • naku
    naku Posts: 109 Member
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    And please don't tell me to start doing cardio as I really hate it... and wont do it anyway.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,668 Member
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    What people may not realize is that training your abs intensely can BUILD MUSCLE in some cases. That means your adding size to your waistline.
    That's why I personally don't have more than 3 exercises at MOST for my clients and they all do body weight only ab work. The majority of the time I don't even work abs in their sessions because squats, deadlifts, rows, heavy shoulder presses,etc. force them to focus keeping their abs firm.
    You can't "exercise" your abs to flatten them. You want a flat stomach, then it's more about diet and calorie deficit.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • naku
    naku Posts: 109 Member
    Options
    What people may not realize is that training your abs intensely can BUILD MUSCLE in some cases. That means your adding size to your waistline.
    That's why I personally don't have more than 3 exercises at MOST for my clients and they all do body weight only ab work. The majority of the time I don't even work abs in their sessions because squats, deadlifts, rows, heavy shoulder presses,etc. force them to focus keeping their abs firm.
    You can't "exercise" your abs to flatten them. You want a flat stomach, then it's more about diet and calorie deficit.

    My stomach is flat! Don't want it any flatter than this!
    My waist just seems to expand on the sides and become wider...

    So from now on skip the russian twists and side planks?!?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,668 Member
    Options
    What people may not realize is that training your abs intensely can BUILD MUSCLE in some cases. That means your adding size to your waistline.
    That's why I personally don't have more than 3 exercises at MOST for my clients and they all do body weight only ab work. The majority of the time I don't even work abs in their sessions because squats, deadlifts, rows, heavy shoulder presses,etc. force them to focus keeping their abs firm.
    You can't "exercise" your abs to flatten them. You want a flat stomach, then it's more about diet and calorie deficit.

    My stomach is flat! Don't want it any flatter than this!
    My waist just seems to expand on the sides and become wider...

    So from now on skip the russian twists and side planks?!?
    Reduce the frequency of how many times you train your sides. Try just doing it once a week and see how it goes. If it goes down, then you know what's causing the issue.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • naku
    naku Posts: 109 Member
    Options
    What people may not realize is that training your abs intensely can BUILD MUSCLE in some cases. That means your adding size to your waistline.
    That's why I personally don't have more than 3 exercises at MOST for my clients and they all do body weight only ab work. The majority of the time I don't even work abs in their sessions because squats, deadlifts, rows, heavy shoulder presses,etc. force them to focus keeping their abs firm.
    You can't "exercise" your abs to flatten them. You want a flat stomach, then it's more about diet and calorie deficit.

    My stomach is flat! Don't want it any flatter than this!
    My waist just seems to expand on the sides and become wider...

    So from now on skip the russian twists and side planks?!?

    Reduce the frequency of how many times you train your sides. Try just doing it once a week and see how it goes. If it goes down, then you know what's causing the issue.

    Boo! I love side planks.
    But I guess that's what got me into this trouble anyways.

    Any tips on how to make my hips re-gain their width? :D

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