DH has a question...

[tricia]

Hi Cathe,

I'm posting this question for my husband - he's noticing that his abdominals seem to be pushing out even when he's relaxed. I will feel his abdominals and even if he's not flexing, it feels tight and rippling instead of smooth. Because of this, he's been working his abs on the machine were he adds about 40 pounds and then crunches. I think this will make the problem more pronounced. He's not sure what to do!

Just so you'll have a better picture, here's some more info. My husband does window and door installation for a living, lifting tremendously heavy loads at a time. For example, one window they did the other day weighed about 500 pounds - he lifted one side and his two employees held the other. That's a normal day for him.

Due to the work he does, when he works out at home he concentrates on weight lifting. He does very little cardio. He finds that if he runs or focuses on cardio, he loses muscle tone in his legs- He can't have that with the work he does.

Another note that is important: he was on prednisone for several months (Aug - Dec.) at high levels, and they have taken him off of this somewhat quickly. (That has caused him tremendous fatigue.) The prednisone caused him to gain weight and generally look puffy, so I don't know what other things that may be affecting.

Is it common for men who are very strong but have a weight gain to have issues trying to lose the weight without losing the muscle? What would you suggest for him to try and lose the excess weight while maintaining his strength? And should he be working his abs in a different way?

Sorry this is so long, I just want to help - he's so frustrated right now!

Thanks!


Tricia

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Tricia! Unfortunately it really is too hard for me to know the answer to this without actually having evaluated him. Yes, prednisone can affect weight loss efforts but each case is so individual. This is something his doctor really needs to evaluate with him since he knows his whole health history. Protruding abdominals could be anything from obvious weight gain, to a hernia, to separated abdominal muscles, amongst other things. All I can suggest is that if his abdominals really seem unusually large or bothersome in any way, he should go have it checked out.

Generally speaking, if anyone is trying to lose weight while maintaining strength, I would suggest a clean and healthy diet with good lean proteins to help muscle growth and repair, along with solid heavy total body weight training and adequate cardio activity. Abdominal work can consist of various mainstream exercises that hit the abdominals from all angles (ie: oblique work, basic crunches, plank work).

Hopefully this info helps Tricia Take Care!

 

[tricia]

Hi Cathe,

I just wanted to say thank you for the response. This is definitely something he will be telling his Doctor about when he goes back to the Mayo Clinic next month. The nice thing is, now he can go forward with an idea of what his workouts should be like and see what he can accomplish with his rotation and eating alone. I suggested either SLow and Heavy or Gym Style workouts to him. He has also started to incorporate planks and stability ball to his ab routine. We'll see how it goes!

I really do appreciate your quick response - as always!!

Tricia