tpaul

Hi guys im looking to get back into training in the next couple of weeks and have not trained now for nearly 7yrs.
I started to train when i was 15 for rugby, broke my neck back and leg pins etc when i was 18 motorbike.
I was in a real bad way for a long time and still suffer a huge amount with my back.
However i went back to the gym when i was 22-23 and got myself back into an ok shape but not great.
Now the question i wanted to ask was that after training then i seemed to have a barrel type stomach if this makes sense and even when i got back into decent shape it still looked as if i had eat a few too many pies.
I dont know if this is due to a big change in my spine and the shape it is making my stomach out of shape, or that i was training wrong etc etc, i know i used to hold my breath sometimes when struggling and i know this is dangerous and does not help at all, but i think most of us would have done this at some time.
So what i wanted to ask is there any exercises i should do to try and counter this. I know diet is important to rid body fats, but even when i was id say under 20% bodyfat my stomach was still like a barrel lol.
Look forward to advise
Thanks
Paul