Your waist is made up of muscle, and those muscles can respond to heavy weights by growing bigger. After doing heavily weighted exercises for an extended period of time, it may lead to a broader, or 'thicker-looking', waist.
Working out does not burn or melt fat. When you work out, your muscles will begin to grow and expand under the already existing layer of fat there. The expansion of muscles, coupled with the fat in your body, will make your waistline bigger.
This may occur because of hormonal imbalances, obesity, kidney problems, lack of physical activity, etc. (10) When you lose weight but look fatter, there is a possibility that it is the result of swelling caused by water retention. How to fix it? Water retention is often the result of an increased sodium intake.
Walking, jogging and aerobic exercises burn calories and improve weight loss. So, keep doing your situps, but add other strength exercises and aerobic training to narrow your waistline.
People who incorporate core training or weightlifting into their exercise routines may experience some weight gain due to increased muscle mass. The fibers in your muscles tear and while they heal and become even bigger muscles, they are soothed by fluids surrounding them, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
In order to get flat abs, you need to burn fat by exercising your entire body and eating fewer calories. Also, since weight loss happens all over the body, you need to keep your workouts balanced. Spot reduction is a myth; no matter how much you work your abs, you won't get a flat belly unless you lose fat everywhere.
The incorrect type of aerobic training raises cortisol levels, which can cause your body to store fat instead of burning it. High cortisol has been proven to increase visceral fat (fat that surrounds our organs/belly fat) and inflammation in the body.
'No matter how much we want it to be true, abdominal exercises won't give you a smaller waist,' says PT Campus. 'You get this through a combination of nutrition, metabolic conditioning, and whole-body exercises – not by doing countless ab exercises.
No, it strengthens the muscles in your waist and stomach that is hidden underneath the layers of fat. Once you shed that layer through diet and cardio, you'll see the results.
Causes include poor diet, lack of exercise, and short or low-quality sleep. A healthy diet and active lifestyle can help people lose excess belly fat and lower the risk of problems associated with it.
If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to carry excess weight — including belly fat. Also, your muscle mass might diminish slightly with age, while fat increases.
Core exercises like planks, weighted crunches, and side bends lead to far greater levels of abdominal wall activation than squats and deads. Heavy, frequent ab and oblique training can create a blocky waist or "turtle shell" abs. To fix a thick waist, you may need to reduce or stop all direct ab/oblique training.
What should your waist measurement be? For men, a waist circumference below 94cm (37in) is 'low risk', 94–102cm (37-40in) is 'high risk' and more than 102cm (40in) is 'very high'. For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, 80–88cm (31.5-34.6in) is high risk and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very high.
It's possible to gain muscle and reduce body fat without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight may stay the same, even as you lose inches, a sign that you're moving in the right direction.
For your best health, your waist should be less than 40 inches around for men, and less than 35 inches for women, although it may vary depending on race or ethnicity. If it's larger than that, you may want to talk with your doctor about what your next steps are, including losing weight.
Crunches:
Crunches are the best exercise to tone the abs and get rid of the fat from the abdominal area. To Perform: Lie flat on your back on a mat. Pull forward both your legs, bending at the knees and put the sole flat on the floor.
When you exercise regularly, your body stores more glycogen to fuel that exercise. Stored in water, glycogen has to bind with water as part of the process to fuel the muscle. That water adds a small amount of weight, too.
To shed that stubborn belly fat, you should work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity activity four to five times a week.
Crunches:
The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches. Crunches rank top when we talk of fat-burning exercises. You can start by lying down flat with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Lift your hands and then place them behind the head.