Lower Abs pooching out from overwork? Help?

E

erinf115

New Member
I switched in the summer to Cathe and I'm noticing that my lower abs seem to be getting larger or are being pushed out?

I'm *busting* my rump and working harder than ever before. Why is my pooch getting more developed? I'm hypothesising that the muscles underneath are working very hard which is causing it to pooch out more? Yuck. How frustrating.

I've been doing Cathe since July, but have noticed this in the last month or two when I really stepped up the intensity, I'm using an 8 inch step instead of a 6 inch...

I do Imax 2, Body Max 2, Step Blast, Step Fit, Power Max, Step Works, Kick Punch and Crunch, Low Impact Step, an a couple others.

I've been trying incredibly hard to pull my navel to my spine while working out since noticing this, any other tips? Any idea why this is happening?

My diet has not changed. Thanks!
 
Good question, I would also like to know the same thing. It is very frustrating. Hopefully someone will answer.
 
I had the same thing happen to me...I was working out six days week/about 2hrs a day. I noticed my abs became larger and starting to stick out. I even went to the doctor because I though there was something wrong but he told me it was an over-developed abdomen.

I cut my workouts back to about 4x/week for about one hour and now my abs are fine. I do both weight training and cardio (sometimes on the same day, sometimes not, depending on the kind of time I have)and I only work my abs about 2x a week.
 
Well, your abs are really just two long, flat muscles that run the length of your torso from your chest to about your hips. The idea that there are "upper" & "lower" abs is a myth. You can work the muscle differently & focus on different parts, but if you build the lower you build the upper too.

I had a trainer tell me once that if you don't breathe properly when you exercise it'd cause air bubbles in your stomach & cause it to puff out. I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard, but your post has me re-thinking it. :p

In all seriousness, have you lost fat in other areas of your body? If no, perhaps it's time to change the diet?
 
I have this problem, too. I'm in a Catch 22, though. I need to strengthen my core to stabilize my lower back, so I do a few minutes of core work just about every day. If I get a little lax with this, I have lower back problems. At any rate, my abs are poochin' out quite a bit and it's aggravating. I know that if I stopped the ab work, my tummy would go down, but then I'd go back to the low back issues.

I do work out just about every day, too. After reading this thread, though, I think I will try cutting my ab work down to three days a week and see if my back can still "perform" over the long haul. I might also cut my workouts down to four (or five) days a week and see if that helps like it helped someone else on this thread. That would certainly give me more time to focus on cooking my healthy meals. Right now, I'm so busy after work between walking the dog, working out, and cooking that I feel like I never get any time for me. Cutting my workouts to weekends and 2-3 times per week might be just the ticket.

Thanks for the ideas everybody.
 
Thanks for the reply!

I'm already eating about as clean as humanly possible, whole foods, whole grains, tons of veggies, lean protein, etc. I'm 5'7" and fluctuate from 120 to 125. I never thought I'd get to say this: I'm a size 4!!! (even a 2 in some vanity sizing!! YEAY!) My fitness goals are not to lose weight, just to keep healthy and maintain myself at my current weight. I'm trying really hard to tone my upper body, and through Cathe's workouts I've seen crazy definition in my shoulders and arms that I *never* thought I'd acheive!

I ramped up my workouts when I got some new longer Cathe workouts for Christmas, and started using an 8 inch step vs. a 6 inch. I think I'll cut back on the workouts a bit as well and see if that helps.
 
I started having the same problem recently and I just chalked it up to menopause. But, I have been working my abs a lot harder in recent weeks. No real big change in the way I am eating. I think I'll try doing abs just one time per week and see what happens!
 
my middle thickens doing cathe abs... the poochy is finally going down a bit with p90x's ab ripper x.... and no... i've not changed my diet while on the p90x rotation....


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Hey Erin. A bit about me: I am 43, had my daughters at age 37 and age 39, had some left over baby pooch, work out hard and hate HATE HATE! working my abs. Here is what worked for me: less direct ab work , more kickboxing workouts which work the abs indirectly and from different angles. Also yoga has has helped lean me out. I am a yoga groupie no doubt. Abs are muscles - would you work your biceps every day? Course not. Abs need a rest - and thank the lord for that given my resistence to ab resistence.

Also rethink the pulling the navel to the spine thing. This is so overrated, could cause additional strain on back, hips and the abs by pushing the body into an unnatural stance. In fact Cathe addressed this recently - I am paraphrasing here- saying that recent info suggests that this puts an unnatural strain on the lower back and abdominals. I found when I actually "honored" the arch in my lower back (that is how my yoga instructor put it) my back felt better and my abs relaxed as well to be less pooch, more straight.

Finally, your workouts are very focused on cardio. I had that mindset for so long - cardio 6x/week. I leaned out by focusing on weight training a bit more and the body fat reduction was noticeable immediately. Less body fat. less fat in the abdominals. My schedule of 3/4x per week cardio, full body workouts 2x/week and yoga 3x/week seems to do the trick. Full disclosure here: I switch the workout schedule a lot and most weeks don't get all these workouts in. If you want some sample schedules I can send.

So think about working the abs directly 2 or 3 times a week and getting them challenged in other ways with other workouts, especially kick boxing. Stop the sucking in the gut thing - breathe Erin! And pick up them dumb bells. Good luck!

Julie

Fit Over 40
 
Julie: I'd love to see some sample weeks, if you wouldn't mind sharing :). I'd especially love to see how you fit in yoga more than once a week--I struggle with that!

Jennifer
 
I read Julie's response and I could relate to her as well. I noticed a great change in my abs when I did "core related" workouts like kickboxing and pilates. I also noticed that once I started to get back into the doing crunches routine that my core was not as lean or defined as before. My abs looked the best when I was doing pilates at least once a week for an hour on top of my regular workouts. I would go to a class where they use the pilates machine instead of floor work, although any kind of pilates work if it's done correctly. I also believe the stretching done in pilates and yoga really helped lean out my belly area. I was also a cardio fanatic for a very long time and my husband kept telling me that if I don't start doing more weight training, I won't get rid of that little "pooch" doing mostly cardio. He was right. After I incorporated more weight training my body responded including my abs even though I didn't directly work on my abs any differently. I don't know if that made any sense, but I hope it helped somehow.

Lisa
 
Hi Jennifer, here you go - winter schedule samples:

M - rest day
Tu - KPC a.m.; yoga class at lunch (gym near work has a 45 minute one)
W - Maximum Intensity Strength
Th - Turbo Jam (about 50 minutes) or 4 mile run on treadmill plus 30 minute Eion Finn routine from Power Yoga for Happiness
Fri - Power Hour
Sat - 5 mile run
Sun - 30-40 minute bike

M - rest day
Tues - 30 minute cardio + Max Intensity Strength all upper body (30 minutes; yoga class
Wed - 3 mile run (about 25 minutes)+ MIC lower body (20 minutes)
Thurs - Baron Baptiste yoga (60 minute advanced one, forgot the name)
Fri - 5 mile run
Sat - at the gym - one hour body pump class, one hour yoga class
Sun - Drill Max cardio only (about 50 minutes)

Off week recovery from weights:
M - rest
Tues - KPC + yoga class
Wed - Bryan Kest yoga dvd "Sweat"
Thurs - 3 mile run + Eion Finn 42 minute Daily Dose of Bliss
Fri - yoga class vinyasa style at gym
Sat - run 5-6
Sun - bike 40 minutes

This is all ideal world stuff. I don't oversleep, I can do the lunchtime class near work, I just bonk and blow something off. How's that? Love to hear from you and others on this. And again, this has been the abs solution for me. No crunches!


Fit Over 40
 
Hi Julie,

I had a question regarding your yoga that you incorporate in your schedule. Do you feel that there is a difference between the yoga you do on the dvds and going to an actual class? I find it hard to find a dvd that is "just right" for me. I've done some that were way too advanced and some that were just okay. The classes I took were okay. Are the dvds you mentioned beg, inter, or advanced level? Have you also tried "hot yoga"? What did you think of that if you did? I have friends who have been wanting me to go, but I don't know how I feel about being in a really hot room. Any input would be appreciated!

Lisa
 
RE: Lower Abs pooching out from overwork? Some yoga follow up

Hi Lisa. I am a big advocate of going to a real yoga studio - not the gyms where they offer classes - so you have the benefit of working with a high level instructor who can offer form pointers.
You really get the most out of the yoga if you know what you are doing. Move the hip one inch and boom - you feel it in a whole new way! So once oyu are grounded in form, the DVDs and classes get better.

The classes at my gym are really for those who know what they are doing already. The instructors are so so; in fact I think they push too hard sometimes to make the yoga more intense (that no pain no gain gym mentality). I am so lucky to have a great studio near my house. If you can, go to some beginner yoga classes at a studio. They tend to have more instruction. Tell the instructor "can you help me with form if need be? I am new to this."

As for the DVDs, all mine are advanced -some more than others, the three-set Kest workouts the most (Energize, Tone, Sweat). I would also recommend Baron Baptiste beginner and advanced tapes. He instructs well on form. Realize I have been doing yoga for over 10 years so it works for me.

Finally, hot yoga thing, I avoid that. I mean hey, don't people wind up in the hospital from dehydration in over 100 degree weather? Just my opinion.

Hope that helps.

Julie
Fit Over 40
 
RE: Lower Abs pooching out from overwork? Some yoga fo...

Sometimes you can find cheap yoga classes through the continuing education department of your local college or university. I've done a few classes here in Atlanta through Emory University with some excellent instructors for a reasonable price. It's good to have classes so you learn the poses correctly.

Have you tried Rainbeau Mars's yoga dvds? They are excellent, especially for beginners. Look them up on Amazon. They are not too fast paced but not too boring either, as I have found many other dvds to be.

-Lucinda
 
RE: Lower Abs pooching out from overwork? Some yoga fo...

Thank you Julie for the input. It really helped.

Thank you also Lucinda for the dvd referral.

Now I have a better sense of direction of where to go with my yoga. I've taken classes at the yoga studio a few times, but find it pricey when I'm already paying for gym membership, but at the same time, I'm not totally satisfied with the yoga classes at the gym. So maybe I can check out some of those dvds as well as do a yoga class once a month at the studio.

Lisa
 
That's exactly what I thought when I read that also. And to be working out and burning calories on top of that doesn't seem to be a healthy way to go in the long run. I always thought no matter what formula you use, women should never go below 1200 per day so how would this work for people under 120lbs? I would like other people's thoughts on that also. Did he mean while you're just trying to lower your fat percentage? So then what happens after that?

Lisa
 
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