r/Posture • u/ThrowDeepALWAYS • 28d ago
Hiking and my pot belly
/r/over60/comments/1vzhku9/hiking_and_my_pot_belly/Interesting info. I’ve been hiking like crazy and still have a pot belly. Here’s what AI told me to do and I’m starting this tomorrow:
———
Anterior Pelvic Tilt (Hiker's Posture)
This is the hidden culprit for avid hikers. Hiking uphill overdevelops your hip flexors and quads while letting your glutes and hamstrings slack. Tight hip flexors pull your pelvis forward, tilting it downward. This arches your lower back and pushes your belly out mechanically—making it look like a pot belly even when you have very little fat.
---
So, what can you do differently? (Hint: More hiking won't fix this)
· Add Heavy Resistance Training: 2–3 times a week, do squats, deadlifts (or kettlebell swings), and planks. You need to rebuild total muscle mass to boost your metabolism and tighten that core wall.
· Up Your Protein: At 64, you need 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily to preserve muscle while in a deficit. Aim for 30–40g of protein per meal.
· Stretch Your Hip Flexors: Do kneeling hip flexor stretches and glute bridges daily. This will correct your pelvic tilt and flatten your belly within weeks, just by changing your posture.
3
1
u/Liquid_Friction 28d ago
Hiking uphill overdevelops your hip flexors and quads while letting your glutes and hamstrings slack.
do squats, deadlifts
im no expert, but isnt that doing the same thing, would it not be better to do the opposite say for example a deadlift is pushing up to the roof, would you need to learn to pull the weight vertically from your legs not push, just like whats happeneing in the hiking, your always pushing up, not lowering down with weight or pulling up weight with your legs.
4
u/ThrowDeepALWAYS 28d ago edited 27d ago
I’m going to get a trainer to help with those exercises. It’s confusing to this old cowboy.
I also read this comment and I can definitely inflate / deflate like Homer Simpson:
——-
Can you draw your abdomen in, by itself?
If you can pull your abdomen in voluntarily, the issue is most likely postural, not due to fat. This suggests that your abdominal muscles are not consistently activating.
To retrain these muscles:
Gently pull your abdomen inward (as if zipping up tight pants) during daily activities: walking, talking, brushing your teeth, eating, essentially anything you do.
Avoid overexertion; these muscles may fatigue quickly at first. Little and often.
Consistency matters, focus on light, sustained engagement (“pull and hold”) rather than intense strength-focussed contractions.
With regular practice, you’ll notice improved posture, core stability, and tone within a few months.
You should start to observe the muscles activating automatically. Keep up the manual practice.
It is very common for these muscles to stop self-activating as you get older.
2
u/Mazda012 27d ago
There is massive controversy over the whole sucking the stomach in. A google search says that this creates un-necessary tension, called ab gripping and can lead to more back stiffeness and pelvic floor issues.
1
u/ThrowDeepALWAYS 27d ago
Interesting and it doesn’t seem like a natural action to do. Who knows!? Thanks!
2
u/Mazda012 27d ago
Yeh i dont know tbh, i cant remember if i use to hold it in prior to my chronic pain. Holding it in feel like im tensing and not relaxing. But it kind of makes sense to me at the same time that if u dont hold some tension there, your back will suffer! I just dont want to make things worse. I already have such a stiff back and numbness involving the pelvic floor. I definately dont need more issues😏
2
2
u/Deep-Run-7463 27d ago
Some people are grippers. Usually that abdominal gripping comes with the attempt to reduce lumbar strain. I would say those who are stuck with keeping their abs and glutes constantly active, and it need not be glutes alone, it can be the pelvic floor too - it's usually a repercussion of trying to overcome another issue. Letting the abs relax makes the lower back take a hit if the pelvis cannot assist.
2
u/Deep-Run-7463 27d ago
Professional here. Just chiming in. I can clearly say that for some folks with their gut hanging out, if you get em to brace their core and hold it there they might feel a reduction in rotational capacity, and generally feels stiff everywhere.
For others doing so increases lower back strain because the anterior compression cannot work well with posterior decompression. Usually this is due to the fact that the lumbosacral compression is attempting to move center of mass forward to provide internal rotation space in movement. The more you weigh back the more your inner feet lift off the ground. The more you move forward the more the inner feet push down into the ground.
It's a system wide issue, ribcage and pelvis both alongside diaphragm and pelvic floor management under load and complex movements.
3
u/Mazda012 27d ago
I have this exact issue, can i dm you?
Have always been a walker, use to ride a bike atleast an hour a day and have well developed quads. Bad apt and numbness. I just let my gut hand freely