tight mid section, what has worked for you?

[juggy38]

Very low carb diets burn more visceral fat compared to low fat diets. Suppversity just posted a good read on it

 

[LK3]

broom twists
another member here long ago clued me into this
very slow, mind muscle, breathing.
sometimes finish with vacums with the broom up.

 

[USMuscle9403]

broom twists
another member here long ago clued me into this
very slow, mind muscle, breathing.
sometimes finish with vacums with the broom up.

Try Russian twists

 

[hawkmoon]

I have got to work on this myself.

My waist has thickened considerably over the years and I don't like how it looks.
Combined with food-poisoning induced SIBO, the current state of things disgusts me.

I have already dropped squats and rack-pulls. I can feel the bad-pain pulling of my abs when doing these so obviously not good for me anymore...

Even when I was in prep the last two years I could not get my waist where I wanted it.
I am thinking time away from the exercises mentioned above, carefully ramping back up ab work as I have Diastasis Recti issues.

Having a thick chest, back, etc is meaningless with a thick waist...

 

[qbkilla]

Very low carb diets burn more visceral fat compared to low fat diets. Suppversity just posted a good read on it

Happen to have the article or video?

 

[Ehren]

Recently I've learned that flexing my abs while doing cardio (fast walking and hill runs) has brought my abs in and reduced waste circumference a lot in the past 2 months (while dieting). Size 34 to size 31 pants.

By "flexing" I don't mean flexing downward like you're trying to show separation, I mean squeezing the whole midscetion like you're going to absorb a punch. Big difference for me.

I don't do abs anymore. They're strong and I feel like any extra abs I do makes my obliques grow. Low bodyfat makes them look good.

 

[juggy38]

I think to stay away from barbell squats and dead’s as you main mass movements. I still do them, but they are LAST in my routine. I want my LEGs to be extremely fatigued to keep total loading down on toso. Say you squat first and do two working sets of 405 then a back off set of 355. If you squat LAST your work sets might be 355 then 315.

 

[Elvia1023]

Thats the thing... you stated the answers.. those other things mentioned make small differences.... now dont get me wrong...to a high level competitor even small differences can make BIG differences onstage..but you nailed em all.. with fat loss of course trumping all..... my midsection which sucks genetically by the way (not pretty abs) was the tightest when my bodyfat was the lowest... trust me, being a physique guy having your midsection as tight as a top is a must.... getting my bf the lowest i could got me there... btw i wore 29s onstage..

EXACTLY!!

All the things he mentioned are what will give 90%+ of the results. The problem is most want to eat what they want but hope if they do certain exercises and wear a belt their waist will suddenly shrink. FOOD is the main thing. Simply eating foods you digest well. Then comes food volume. Then comes energy balance, effort and time. Obviously there is a lot to things that 1 post couldn't cover but the less volume of food you eat the less volume of food that sits in your stomach. The better you digest foods the less you will be bloated. We still obviously want to eat a healthy diet but when your goal is having the smallest waist possible pounding the veggies (even if low cals) is not the best thing to do. The more time you spend in a calorie deficit the more body fat you will lose.

So basically the right food choices and the right food volume and the right macros/calories and simply time. If someone isn't happy they simply aren't lean enough. Obviously vacuums 100% work as well and will help strengthen the muscles and give you more control. However the only way for many to get a small waist is to simply get really lean. Then all the ab twists etc will help matters but without the basics it's essentially a waste of time. Again we can get really detailed here but qbkilla if you optimize all the things you first mentioned in your opening post you will get much better results than wearing any belt or performing a certain exercise (not to say they can't compliment things).

QBKILLA what is your current bodyfat %?

 

[qbkilla]

I'd estimate, 10 percent at 33.5 inches. Very good post. The issue, the large volume foods (veggies, chicken, peaches) keep us full and allow us to eat fewer calories and get that low bodyfat. A true double edged sword lol.

Any thoughts on colon cleanse? I used to hear how we have all this meat stuck in our colon, but after research, it seems the online consensus is that is false. Colon cleanse will not shrink our waist and we do not have undigested food sitting in there.

 

[Elvia1023]

I'd estimate, 10 percent at 33.5 inches. Very good post. The issue, the large volume foods (veggies, chicken, peaches) keep us full and allow us to eat fewer calories and get that low bodyfat. A true double edged sword lol.

Any thoughts on colon cleanse? I used to hear how we have all this meat stuck in our colon, but after research, it seems the online consensus is that is false. Colon cleanse will not shrink our waist and we do not have undigested food sitting in there.

I think the key is just balance. You can still eat decent sized meals it's just about finding the optimal foods for your needs. Many low calorie foods can be really good for this purpose so you can still enjoy decent sized meals and reach your desired goal. At the same time certain low calorie foods can be extremely bad as well. It's different for everyone but some are more commonly bad than others such as broccoli and mushrooms. It's about sticking to those optimal foods and turning your body into a processing machine. Then you combine many of the other things mentioned in this thread and in the end you can get great results.

I have serious issues with my waist so I have to really bring the food down and avoid many foods I enjoy if I want it to look small. My waist still doesn't measure small but I can make it look much smaller than it really is in many ways. Another thing worth mentioning is fasting as that can be useful for this purpose. Out of all the other things I think vacuums are the one thing you should really focus on as they can be very beneficial. I need to do that myself as well and will start now as my current goal is getting my waist super tight.

Many people have mentioned certain training movements and I also think that can be a big factor. Again there is a lot to it and everyone is different but most of the guys who do a lot of lower back loading exercises have thicker waists. Those movements combined with high calories will thicken the midsection over time. Even just the calories alone will do the same but to a lesser degree. Just as heavy ab movements can thicken the ab muscles but that isn't a bad thing imo. I think that is the ideal look when you have thick and pronounced ab muscles yet you bring the waist down at the same time. As hawkmoon mentioned a thicker waist even if everything else is big never looks great. That's why I always look much worst when I am bulked up. The moment I start loading the calories (carbs) everything expands but my waist more so than anything else.

Colon cleanses are generally just a waste of money. Now some of the ingredients in some products may still be useful but I wouldn't take one thinking it will reduce your waist size. Now keeping your organs healthy and drinking plenty of water to flush your system are two things that should be prioritized. Having your liver and kidneys etc functioning optimally will only help matters. Then comes the right balance of probiotics, prebiotics and fibre etc. I did state it's mainly the basics and it is but there can also be other factors many may not even consider such as estradiol levels but in the grand scheme it's the food, energy balance and bodyfat levels that are the main factors. Nevertheless, there can be a lot to things and some guys may have a specific issue that needs to be fixed but I think for most people the things you first mentioned in your opening post are the main contributors to tightening your mid section.

 

[RDS]

Ben Pakulski spoke a little about his midsection on a podcast I listened to recently. I forget which one of I would link to it. He said from cadaver studies he’s done, the actual rectus abdominus (spelled that wrong, probably) never gets thicker than about half an inch even in really big dudes, so it’s unlikely that your an training is the culprit when it comes to a distended midsection.

Not saying he’s right, necessarily, just that it’s an interesting perspective. He seemed to think it was more to do with your transverse abdominus and food volume in general.

 

[3BILLS]

I don't have insta, could someone share what exercises DC recommend. Thanks

 

[danieltx]

I'd estimate, 10 percent at 33.5 inches. Very good post. The issue, the large volume foods (veggies, chicken, peaches) keep us full and allow us to eat fewer calories and get that low bodyfat. A true double edged sword lol.

Any thoughts on colon cleanse? I used to hear how we have all this meat stuck in our colon, but after research, it seems the online consensus is that is false. Colon cleanse will not shrink our waist and we do not have undigested food sitting in there.

Like @b-boy said, you're looking for solutions everywhere except just dieting harder and suffering.

I had multiple days on my last diet were I consumed 950 - 1,050 calories at a shredded 220-230lbs. - I know you haven't suffered like that. If you had, you'd have the tight midsection you're after.

Small waists and tight midsections come from low body fat, not supplements, cleanses, special exercises, etc.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

QB, if you're at 10, maybe YOUR 10 is just not lean enough to see the benefits of a trim midsection...
Just being real here. MOST GUYS are terrible at eyeing their BF %....so maybe you're actually closer to 12% (just go with me here)....for some guys that's not gonna give a tight midsection. I can totally understand if you had veins running down your abs at the moment but had a strangely distended belly, but i just don't think you're lean enough yet brother.
The difference of 2-3% is mindblowing in your midsection so keep pushing.

I'd estimate, 10 percent at 33.5 inches. Very good post. The issue, the large volume foods (veggies, chicken, peaches) keep us full and allow us to eat fewer calories and get that low bodyfat. A true double edged sword lol.

Any thoughts on colon cleanse? I used to hear how we have all this meat stuck in our colon, but after research, it seems the online consensus is that is false. Colon cleanse will not shrink our waist and we do not have undigested food sitting in there.

 

[Ashop]

Watching what I eat and a few IU of HGH daily has helped me dramatically. I do train my abs directly 2-3x per week.

 

[Dvo36]

Diet

 

[qbkilla]

agree on all points for the most part. id like to nail down volume for abs see if that helps. right now im doin 3x a week abs after training, 4 sets each time. then on my other 2 workout days, vacuume. ive

Like @b-boy said, you're looking for solutions everywhere except just dieting harder and suffering.

I had multiple days on my last diet were I consumed 950 - 1,050 calories at a shredded 220-230lbs. - I know you haven't suffered like that. If you had, you'd have the tight midsection you're after.

Small waists and tight midsections come from low body fat, not supplements, cleanses, special exercises, etc.

What was your lowest average intake? Recently I did calorie cycling it was hell but 500/500/3500, so 1500 average per day and it was hell. Large volume food. Eventually the fatigue, mental effects were bad. But you are correct and I agree, dieting and suffering is the best way , just looking for other things to assist. Thank god for coffee when dropping under 2k average per day.

 

[danieltx]

agree on all points for the most part. id like to nail down volume for abs see if that helps. right now im doin 3x a week abs after training, 4 sets each time. then on my other 2 workout days, vacuume. ive


What was your lowest average intake? Recently I did calorie cycling it was hell but 500/500/3500, so 1500 average per day and it was hell. Large volume food. Eventually the fatigue, mental effects were bad. But you are correct and I agree, dieting and suffering is the best way , just looking for other things to assist. Thank god for coffee when dropping under 2k average per day.

I don't know my lowest average intake, and that's another point where you're overanalyzing things. You do need to track your calories each day but you don't need to do weekly averages and over-complicate it. Start your diet with calories at X and just continually lower them by the week to keep fat loss going. I can tell you the lowest I got to was around 950. And obviously leading to that I had weeks in the 1,400s; 1,200s; 1,300s; 1,100s; etc.

You need to quit with the large volumes of food, that's one of the things preventing you from getting a tight midsection. Loading up on veggies is fun because it satiates you and is low in calories, but that volume prevents your midsection from being as tight as it can be. Uneducated kids always point to GH / IGF / etc. as the cause of distended stomachs on stage these days when really the vast majority is due to guys just eating too much volume of food when they carb up. Doesn't matter how lean you are, if you overfill your stomach you get bloated.

Anything besides dieting and suffering is going to have a very, very incremental impact at your level, maybe not even noticeable to you. Get to the point with your dieting where you're starving but have such little energy it feels better to lay on the couch than walk the 20 steps to the kitchen - then you'll likely have a better midsection than you ever imagined.

 

[11111]

Ben Pakulski spoke a little about his midsection on a podcast I listened to recently. I forget which one of I would link to it. He said from cadaver studies he’s done, the actual rectus abdominus (spelled that wrong, probably) never gets thicker than about half an inch even in really big dudes, so it’s unlikely that your an training is the culprit when it comes to a distended midsection.

Not saying he’s right, necessarily, just that it’s an interesting perspective. He seemed to think it was more to do with your transverse abdominus and food volume in general.

rds, do you remember which podcast it was? i'd be interested in hearing it

 

[Rumpwrangler]

I think to stay away from barbell squats and dead’s as you main mass movements. I still do them, but they are LAST in my routine. I want my LEGs to be extremely fatigued to keep total loading down on toso. Say you squat first and do two working sets of 405 then a back off set of 355. If you squat LAST your work sets might be 355 then 315.

Avoided injuries my entire sporting and partying life until age 35 when I got talked into playing church softball. My short, overmuscled ass popped a hamstring running from first to second in the season’s first game. Long story short, the hammy led to a popped IT band squatting. Then a torn MCL. Now something new I just got X-rayed Wednesday in same knee. I used to be able to do 2-3 reps with 510lbs going deep with strict form. Now I hardly squat anymore and I bet I can’t get 315. However, keeping the theme of the post, my waist is much smaller and tighter lol. But I miss the beefy quads and strength!