Do ab exercises "expand" waistline? help!

[ashleymc]

:confused:Im a 53 year old 0321 ex marine..been in shape most of my life..slacked off between 2000 -2006 now been back training hard but I gotta tell ya..This stuff puts wear and tear on the old bod..
anyway having been doing the same routine for three years religiously and adding in alot of stomach work my pant waist size is now 2" bigger..!
I wear a 54" jacket and 40" waist but does building up the abs underneath the stomach fat make your overall waist size bigger?
Eating the same- no other changes..any ideas?

[Unreal]

Of course it does. Large abs and obliques expand your waist line.

[Super Sub]

The quick answer is "no". This is due to the insertion point of the muscle. I read this recently in an article ( i think in Ironman). I will dig out the reference.

[Clifford Gillmore]

The quick answer is "no". This is due to the insertion point of the muscle. I read this recently in an article ( i think in Ironman). I will dig out the reference.

Negative. Ab exercises CAN expand your waistline, powerlifters have massive cores. As far as your situation is concerned, cleaning up the diet along with training will clean up the fat, and drop the waistline a little - as long as you are cutting that is!