Not quite certain what your asking here Steve, sorry
Muscle fibre is almost exclusively below teh layer of fat, so what your feeling is the muscle beneath the fat. The overhang is teh fat covering and it tends to concentrate, on men, around teh waistline.
You can have the muscles ofe Arnold S no problem, and be as strong as him too, but with 32% bodyfat like me you would still look a fat bastard.
Notice powerlifters, whom are pretty much the strongest of all the sportsmen, usually look quite overweight? The fat they retain adds strength to the joints, but underneath the fat they are huge muscular animals.
Hope i havent totally misunderstood your question and spouted 5mins of shite
