Q:
I read in a health magazine that doing extensive abdominal workouts can make your lower stomach appear bloated if there is a significant layer of fat over the muscles. Is this possible? If so, how do you avoid it?
A:
I'm not familiar with the article you refer to, and have not heard that particular concern discussed previously. Certainly, if the abdominal wall muscles become thicker and develop more tone as might happen if one did heavy resistive exercise involving those muscles, a prominent abdominal fat pad might appear even more prominent.
Abdominal muscle exercise does not "spot reduce" the abdominal fat layer. General weight reduction, done in a safe and logical fashion, will reduce body fat, and the abdomen is one of the sites that is so reduced. So, if a person has a prominent abdominal fat collection, weight reduction by calorie restriction and sensible exercise is the way to go.
~The Doc
