Toning up my stomach but have lost my waistline!

runningbuddy

Hi folks, this one for the ladies !! I decided to really get to grips with my fitness this year. Have been consistently working out for almost a year and have toned up and feel good. However, my once prominent waistline has disappeared :eek:.

I have been doing 20 min abs at least 4 times per week. These involve crunches (including obliques), Russian twist, etc.

Can anyone recommend a routine that will tackle a thickening waist?? thanks

Cake Man

Fork putdowns and table pushaways

runningbuddy

Cake Man wrote: »

Fork putdowns and table pushaways

LOL, have tried that !!

bladespin

Just to clarify, you've lost the waistline but are worried about thickening abs?

Reduce the ab work would by my first inclination but am unclear about what you want.

runningbuddy

bladespin wrote: »

Just to clarify, you've lost the waistline but are worried about thickening abs?

Reduce the ab work would by my first inclination but am unclear about what you want.

Hi, I have lost the fat from my lower abdomen. However, my waist seems to have thickened

I want a toned stomach with a defined waist. I have a toned (well, not perfect) stomach buy my waist definition as disappeared.

wexfordhun

runningbuddy wrote: »

Hi folks, this one for the ladies !! I decided to really get to grips with my fitness this year. Have been consistently working out for almost a year and have toned up and feel good. However, my once prominent waistline has disappeared :eek:.

I have been doing 20 min abs at least 4 times per week. These involve crunches (including obliques), Russian twist, etc.

Can anyone recommend a routine that will tackle a thickening waist?? thanks

No Idea what you actually mean here? you do want a thick waist? Just remain in a caloric deficit. You dont get abs but building them up but more so reducing fat around them. Spot reduction isnt a thing either so the fat around your abs will more than likely be the last to go.

runningbuddy

wexfordhun wrote: »

No Idea what you actually mean here? you do want a thick waist? Just remain in a caloric deficit. You dont get abs but building them up but more so reducing fat around them. Spot reduction isnt a thing either so the fat around your abs will more than likely be the last to go.

I mean, I do not want a thick waist ! lol.....There is no flab as such. Just no waist definition. I am straight up and down, whereas before, I had a defined waist, but also had a big flabby tummy !!

Having said that, I may be overdoing it a bit on the booze, due to the good weather !!

Mr. CooL ICE

I'm kinda confused by the description. Is it a case that you previously had fat everywhere, but have been doing ab exercises in an effort to only remove fat from the middle but leave the fat everywhere else to give a 'curved' look?

Pelvis

OP I think when you say waist you mean hips? You want your "hour glass" figure back?

runningbuddy

Pelvis wrote: »

OP I think when you say waist you mean hips? You want your "hour glass" figure back?

I was probably only a few pounds overweight but had a lot of fat around my tummy but still had a defined waistline. Now, my tummy is a lot more toned but my waist is not defined. There is not fat around my waist at all. It is toned.

Dial Hard

I know what the OP means, she was hourglass but as she's toned up she's lost the hip-to-waist ratio she used to have. I have a competitive athlete friend who's the same, she changed her sport to one with a lot more muscle involved and while she's in absolutely phenomenal shape, she has next to no "indent" in her waist now.

I don't think there's any exercise you can do specifically to narrow your waist, op, but you could work on building your glutes & quads slightly to balance you back out.

PokeHerKing

Dial Hard wrote:

I know what the OP means, she was hourglass but as she's toned up she's lost the hip-to-waist ratio she used to have. I have a competitive athlete friend who's the same, she changed her sport to one with a lot more muscle involved and while she's in absolutely phenomenal shape, she has next to no "indent" in her waist now.

Dial Hard wrote:

I don't think there's any exercise you can do specifically to narrow your waist, op, but you could work on building your glutes & quads slightly to balance you back out.

An hourglass figure should still be hourglass with or without weight.

It's determined by your bone structure.

If you thought you had an hour glass figure and lost weight and no longer have one then it was fat creating an illusion of that shape.

runningbuddy

Dial Hard wrote: »

I know what the OP means, she was hourglass but as she's toned up she's lost the hip-to-waist ratio she used to have. I have a competitive athlete friend who's the same, she changed her sport to one with a lot more muscle involved and while she's in absolutely phenomenal shape, she has next to no "indent" in her waist now.

I don't think there's any exercise you can do specifically to narrow your waist, op, but you could work on building your glutes & quads slightly to balance you back out.

Yep, this is it!! More of a boyish shape now.

bladespin

More glute work, maybe less ab focus. Well done on the fat loss, job now is to build up the figure.

runningbuddy

bladespin wrote: »

More glute work, maybe less ab focus. Well done on the fat loss, job now is to build up the figure.

Thanks. I'm delighted as the working out really helps the old head too :pac:

Maybe the exercises I am doing are a bit too much. Should prob try to keep the core more engaged. Cutting down on the beer and wine wont hurt either lol

Mr. CooL ICE

Possibly a misogynistic viewpoint, but the thread reminded me of this image:

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

Possibly a misogynistic viewpoint, but the thread reminded me of this image:

Banned

Mr. CooL ICE

bluewolf wrote: »

Banned

Be quiet, female

runningbuddy

I didn't see the image. Probably just as well.

CIARAN_BOYLE

runningbuddy wrote: »

I didn't see the image. Probably just as well.

probably for the best. the image does habe a good point though.

more squats may be what you are looking for.

runningbuddy

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

probably for the best. the image does habe a good point though.

more squats may be what you are looking for.

LOL, I wish I did see the image now

Alf Veedersane

bluewolf wrote: »

Banned

The irony...and you talking to H**ley regularly!

James Banley...as he may well be known in Boards Towers.

dashoonage

#freehanley

Mellor

PokeHerKing wrote: »

An hourglass figure should still be hourglass with or without weight.

It's determined by your bone structure.

If you thought you had an hour glass figure and lost weight and no longer have one then it was fat creating an illusion of that shape.

The last line contradicts the first two lines.

runningbuddy

Think I may have been doing the ab exercises incorrectly. I should have made more of an effort to engage my core but didn't. I googled stomach vacuuming exercises . I might try these. Life was a lot simpler as a couch potato

PokeHerKing

Mellor wrote: »

PokeHerKing wrote: »

An hourglass figure should still be hourglass with or without weight.

It's determined by your bone structure.

If you thought you had an hour glass figure and lost weight and no longer have one then it was fat creating an illusion of that shape.

The last line contradicts the first two lines.

You'll have to talk to me like I'm a golden retriever as I cant for the life of me figure out how?

Mellor

Hourglass is hourglass regardless of your weight.
You lost that shape when you lost fat.


The first line implueecthe second list can't happen. Contradictory.

Fat doesn't create an "illusion" of a shape. The mass is there, the shape is there.

PokeHerKing

Mellor wrote: »

Hourglass is hourglass regardless of your weight.
You lost that shape when you lost fat.


The first line implueecthe second list can't happen. Contradictory.

Fat doesn't create an "illusion" of a shape. The mass is there, the shape is there.

The illusion is very much in the eye of the holder. An "hour-glass" shape is determined by your bone structure, not fat.

Spell check your posts next time you're trying to be pedantic.

Mellor

PokeHerKing wrote: »

The illusion is very much in the eye of the holder. An "hour-glass" shape is determined by your bone structure, not fat.

Spell check your posts next time you're trying to be pedantic.

Bone structure is one of multiple factors, not the only factor.
It's not an illusion. The fat is there on the body giving it that shape. There's no pedantic technically here, you are just incorrect.
I'm on my phone and didn't notice the typo. But feel free to pick at that rather than offer a counter point, speaks volumes.

PokeHerKing

Mellor wrote: »

PokeHerKing wrote: »

The illusion is very much in the eye of the holder. An "hour-glass" shape is determined by your bone structure, not fat.

Spell check your posts next time you're trying to be pedantic.

Bone structure is one of multiple factors, not the only factor.
It's not an illusion. The fat is there on the body giving it that shape. There's no pedantic technically here, you are just incorrect.
I'm on my phone and didn't notice the typo. But feel free to pick at that rather than offer a counter point, speaks volumes.

It is 100% determined by bone structure. Its a mathematical measurement of your shoulders/waist/hips.

The illusion I'm referring to, is somebody with wide(fat) hips assuming they've an hour glass shape because of this one measurement.  Maybe I should have said delusion and not illusion.

Mellor

PokeHerKing wrote: »

[
It is 100% determined by bone structure. Its a mathematical measurement of your shoulders/waist/hips.

That would be body shape potential not current shape.
Same way that wrist dimensions are indicative of frame in males.

bladespin

PokeHerKing wrote:

It is 100% determined by bone structure. Its a mathematical measurement of your shoulders/waist/hips.

Only if you're incredibly lean otherwise it's meaningless. No bones in your waist.

Mink

OP, doing some work on your shoulders, delts & lats might help your waist look a bit smaller.

Someone took a photo of me during a competition the other day as I was doing an overhead press type thing (GTO to be specific) but I couldn't get over how much my lats & quads have built up over the last couple months, it does create an illusion somewhat.

wilkie2006

runningbuddy wrote: »

Hi folks, this one for the ladies !! I decided to really get to grips with my fitness this year. Have been consistently working out for almost a year and have toned up and feel good. However, my once prominent waistline has disappeared :eek:.

I have been doing 20 min abs at least 4 times per week. These involve crunches (including obliques), Russian twist, etc.

Can anyone recommend a routine that will tackle a thickening waist?? thanks

Hey OP. So you're lean but your waist has broadened?

If so, it sounds like you've just grown the muscles in your abs/ obliques (in the same way as one might get larger biceps from performing curls).

Have you been doing high rep ab workouts? This would explain the hypertrophy.

I would suggest that you reduce the reps and start doing weighted exercises (cable ab curls, weighted leg raises, weighted planks etc).

runningbuddy

wilkie2006 wrote: »

Hey OP. So you're lean but your waist has broadened?

If so, it sounds like you've just grown the muscles in your abs/ obliques (in the same way as one might get larger biceps from performing curls).

Have you been doing high rep ab workouts? This would explain the hypertrophy.

I would suggest that you reduce the reps and start doing weighted exercises (cable ab curls, weighted leg raises, weighted planks etc).

In my limited knowledge :P. I think this is what the problem is. I have developed muscle in my waist. I was overdoing it a little. I'm working on my transverse abdominis (new one on me, thank god for the internet) and will cut the abs down to a few times a week

Brian?

runningbuddy wrote: »

In my limited knowledge :P. I think this is what the problem is. I have developed muscle in my waist. I was overdoing it a little. I'm working on my transverse abdominis (new one on me, thank god for the internet) and will cut the abs down to a few times a week

I don't think that's the problem at all. I think you've simply lost fat.

As others have reccomended: heavy squats.