How much does muscularity contribute to it? I once saw an article,maybe on this site,which denied that hypertrophy could have a significant effect on waist circumference,and that only fat does. Based on the fact that obliques supposedly do not grow much. However, it did not address the back at all.
Doesn’t matter if you have a bunch of abdominal fat on you. The fat is what causes the health risks, not the absolute size.
If you are talking about purely aesthetic reasons, it still doesn’t matter if you have a bunch of abdominal fat.
[quote]IgneLudo wrote:
Doesn’t matter if you have a bunch of abdominal fat on you. The fat is what causes the health risks, not the absolute size.
If you are talking about purely aesthetic reasons, it still doesn’t matter if you have a bunch of abdominal fat.[/quote]
I’m just interested in the measurements. Like what are the chances of a lean person registering in the risk zone.
Risk zone for what? You can’t have specific numbers because different people have different muscle growth amounts due to the way they train, eat and genetics. Pro bodybuilders have overgrown butts and abs because they apparently can’t control the proportions due to heavy steroid use.
The risk zone is a little like BMI (someone would probably say less like it than I am saying here) in that its really a measurement of bodyfat on the average person.
To answer your question though, there is very little chance.
cmon, the risk zone estimations based on waist size are not intended for trained individuals. OF COURSE a lean bodybulder at 200lbs is gonna have a marginally larger waistline than a
skinny 140lb guy of the same height. The muscles of the abs and obliques will be larger. But we are talking an inch or 2 even on the most well formed individuals (the spinal erectors, obliques and abs between them wont contribute much to overall circumfrence).
Besides look at the facts, most sub 240lb bb’s have 34in or less waists. Average waistline of someone at risk of the usual obesity deseases is 38.
Its like last week i went to the docs for a check up, he weighed me and told me i was obese, i said really (with sarcasm) how much by? “a lot he replied, morbidly obese is the term” To which i responed “i see. And my bodyfat today?” He replied “13%” with a wry smile. And thats it isnt it, if your even remotley successful in the iron game, the rules of the real world no longer apply.
[quote]ultra_extreme wrote:
cmon, the risk zone estimations based on waist size are not intended for trained individuals. OF COURSE a lean bodybulder at 200lbs is gonna have a marginally larger waistline than a
skinny 140lb guy of the same height. The muscles of the abs and obliques will be larger. But we are talking an inch or 2 even on the most well formed individuals (the spinal erectors, obliques and abs between them wont contribute much to overall circumfrence).
Besides look at the facts, most sub 240lb bb’s have 34in or less waists. Average waistline of someone at risk of the usual obesity deseases is 38.
Its like last week i went to the docs for a check up, he weighed me and told me i was obese, i said really (with sarcasm) how much by? “a lot he replied, morbidly obese is the term” To which i responed “i see. And my bodyfat today?” He replied “13%” with a wry smile. And thats it isnt it, if your even remotley successful in the iron game, the rules of the real world no longer apply.[/quote]
Best post. Waist size can increase if you gain enough overall muscle. This also doesn’t mean anything because you are gaining more muscle so it should still be in proportion.
Everyone does not have the same genetics for waist size. There are people with wide waist who are very lean. Obviously, someone is not “at risk” even if they have a 38" waist or bigger if their overall body fat isn’t truly “obese”.
Gunter Schlierkamp has a 38" waist in contest shape. It is no doubt bigger in the off season.
The genius guru who stated that muscle mass does not affect waist size was Poliquin! But he is an expert on bodybuilding - right - considering he does not compete himself and has very little to do with the success of many bodybuilders.
Ever see Nasser in his prime off-seasons, years ago? He had semblance of abs at 330# - and he was not sportin’ some 32 inch waist, I believe.
But then again, Poliquin also stated that gaining bodyfat would not aid in the powerlifters when it is a fact that added BODYWEIGHT (muscle and fat) can lend to more success in powerlifting.
What’s the first piece of advice Larry Pacifico used to give people who wanted a big bench? “Gain weight and train the triceps!” He used Mauro DiPasquale (spelling?) as an example of someone with low bodyfat levels who also was a decent powerlifter.
The fact is that most ordinary folks that don’t have great levers will need more bodyweight to succeed in powerlifting.
If you gain weight in the glutes, obliques, abs, and erectors, you are not going to wear those size 28 - 30 jeans you sported in junior high school.
Thanks for the replies.
I can attest to this phenomenon. I’ve added over an inch to my waist since I’ve started seriously training. That is comparing lean state waist size recently to my first lean state waist size.
doing heavy lower body work has increased my thigh/upper leg size at a faster rate than my waist size, so i end up having to wear a larger waist size pants to keep my thighs comfortable
As always, it’s not the measurement of the individual bodypart, it’s how that bodypart looks on the whole physique. In the case of the waist, you never see a waist without also seeing someone’s chest and shoulder width. So, the shoulder:waist ratio is all that matters, from an aesthetic perspective.
Good replies on this thread.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Everyone does not have the same genetics for waist size. There are people with wide waist who are very lean. Obviously, someone is not “at risk” even if they have a 38" waist or bigger if their overall body fat isn’t truly “obese”.
Gunter Schlierkamp has a 38" waist in contest shape. It is no doubt bigger in the off season.[/quote]
This is what we were all discussing in the T-Cell thread I started a while back (when I was T-Cell-abled).
Jay Cutler, having a 42-inch waist in contest shape at 275 pounds, is put together much differently than Charlie the bartender who has a 42-inch beer belly at 275 pounds.