No, i’m not talking about the chubby that a lot of you were although those are nice too.
However, I have noticed that after a run or bike workout I look and feel fatter around the midsection, not so much with swimming maybe because of all the upperbody/torso work?
What’s the deal? I would figure that after a workout I would look leaner. Does this happen to anyone else? If so, anybody know why? Is my fat just migrating to the middle to be emulsified and eaten by my muscles? (I think this is the way i’m going to think about it)
You’re not the only one to notice… if I want to admire my improving physique in the mirror, I find that doing it before the workout strokes the ego much better than after.
Curious timing. I finished a 115 mile ride with tons of hills this afternoon. After getting out of the shower, and with the thought of having lost at least a pound, standing in front of the mirror, I look fatter than ever. What gives?
I’m a big believer than despite my bopdyweight dropping from 165 down to 150 over the last year or so, I am actually fatter. You ride hard, burn muscle. When you eat, you put back glycogen and fat. You don’t put back muscle. You have to earn that muscle back. In my case, I stopped lifting weights as my interests moved toward endurance sports (cycling, then tri). Voila. Less muscle, same or perhaps a little less, fat. Equals fatter, all things netted out.
If you want to look good, then lift more, swim more. Bike/run less, or at higher intensities (but don’t bank on that building a 6-pack and beefy quads).
I notice the same thing (with my gut) after a long bike (not running or swimming), although its not dramatic. I’m sure a doc would know, but in lieu of an expert, my opinion is that it could be 1) swelling from leaning over for so long and compressing the gut / mid-section, or 2) if you breath through your gut, maybe the constant expanding causes it to stay expanded for a while after your done, or 3) if you hydrate really well, the gut might get a little bloated from all the liquid flowing through.
If you want to look good, then lift more, swim more. Bike/run less, or at higher intensities (but don’t bank on that building a 6-pack and beefy quads).
I am just talking about immediately following the workout, a few hours later or the next morning and I am as 6-packed as ever. I played football in college 2 years ago and since have lost 50 lbs and not touched a weight. IMO and that of others I look much better than before. I’m not so sure about your theory of burning muscle during a ride and then eating glycogen and fat afterwards, it is possible but only if you do all the wrong things.
Yea I get the same thing. Always figured it was from drinking excessive electrolytes.Mine looks like a 3 month pregnant lady if I let it out. Two hours later back to lean and flat (thank God !), weird !
If you want to look good, then lift more, swim more. Bike/run less, or at higher intensities (but don’t bank on that building a 6-pack and beefy quads).
uh, 18,000 yards in the pool last week… what else do you got?
I attend Cornell also, and was pro for a while. I experience a similar effect when I was very out of shape in my early efforts, and have some perception as to the reasons.
You will never burn a noticeable amount of fat (from an aethetic stand point) during a workout. 3600 calories from fat (a long ride might burn 5000 -6000 calories net; some from glyc and some from fat) stores would be an optimistic max for a normal person, and most of these calories do not come from subcutaneous stores but rather from intramuscular fat(a much more mobile form of energy storage).
As you workout you burn the glycogen residing in your muscle tissue, the glycogen in this tissue along with water that joins it(1 gram of glycogen to 3 grams of water) is a significant factor in your own perception of muscle hardness and definition. That is to say that; during a workout you derive energy from something that is adding volume to you muscle mass. Afterwards your fat stores are roughly the same but the are not stretched over seemingly large muscles anymore. You will seem fat until your glycogen is topped of the next day, again stretching your subcutaneous fat (essentially and extension of your skin) until it seems that you are lean. Once you get to a low level of subcutaneous body fat you will no longer observe this effect. Many entry level athletes have high levels of subcutaneous fat as compared with intramuscular levels. As you train, this balance will shift.
This effect probably just means that you are out of shape and unaccustomed to aerboic activity. As you get in shape you should see your subcut fat % fall and you will no longer observe this effect to the same extent.
Happens to me after swimming because i swallow half the pool and am severly bloated.
On the bike i think it might have a little to do with gravity. If you spend hours in the aero position your internal organs may shift lower and forward as you spend hours bent forward.
Thanks! someone finally has the answer and it makes sense because this is the first i have really noticed it and I am just coming back from an injury where i was sidelined for 3 weeks.
Finally found this thread again. U23ITU - got a question for you regarding your post above, specifically…
“As you workout you burn the glycogen residing in your muscle tissue, the glycogen in this tissue along with water that joins it(1 gram of glycogen to 3 grams of water) is a significant factor in your own perception of muscle hardness and definition.”
This makes sense to me, but I was wondering what happens to the 3grams of water? might be obvious but I’m guessing this is lost through sweat, or is it returned to the blood stream? Thanks.
I have noticed this too. I am guessing that what you are seeing is not a sudden accumulation of fat, but a change in your body shape. I have two ideas which might explain what’s going on:
During a long aerobic workout, you try to maximise the volume of your lungs. This means maximum compression of your diaphragm, which in turn squashes the contents of your abdomen. Unless you have a lot of gas in your gut which you can expel (which can happen; I have found myself letting rip during runs), the volume of your abdomen remains constant, and has to be accommodated somewhere else - outwards, in this case.
You’re tired after a long workout. This means ligaments, tendons, muscles, the lot, are all relaxed and tired. It’s very difficult to maintain good abdominal posture when your muscles are tired. On a related note, I have quite often put my back out in the 30 minutes after exercise for precisely this reason. I know now to take it easy, and also if need be to try to put cold water on my back to tighten it up.
good question:
The water in question is likely expelled through perspiratiion, but I don’t rightly know the corrrect answer. I just happen to know that 1 gram on glycogen needs 3 grams of H2O.
Suggests at the bottom that Plasma volume remains fairly constant due to the release of the water stored with Glycogen. I guess this means that all the water is returned to the blood stream(?).
Once you get to a low level of subcutaneous body fat you will no longer observe this effect. Many entry level athletes have high levels of subcutaneous fat as compared with intramuscular levels. As you train, this balance will shift.
This effect probably just means that you are out of shape and unaccustomed to aerboic activity. As you get in shape you should see your subcut fat % fall and you will no longer observe this effect to the same extent.