I was the chubby kid in high school, but participated in sports so I was constantly lifting weights/training - but when I turned 18/19, I began doing cardio, and the baby weight vanished; I went from 200 to about 160, while retaining a lot of muscle due to resistance training.

These days I’m a 29 y/o male (always have been male lol), about 170 with solid build of muscles, but nothing too extreme. But, my past has me ALWAYS subconscious about my belly, which sports a bit of flab, but definitely a bit toned and can see about 2-4 abs.

I’ve noticed that recently, in an effort to put on more muscle, I’ve reduced my cardio by doing less intense intervals, instead doing light jogging for longer time - and ironically, I’ve seen my stomach tighten up!

Is this “normal”? Can anyone explain this?