I want Abs, Help!
soldiergrl_101
Posts: 2,205 Member
So I know Abs are made in the kitchen, that being said on top of my healthy eating I do 100 sit-ups a day holding a 8 pound medicine ball. I was only able to do half of 1 sit up when I started lol.
Right now I have like a two pac, my obliques look great and feel hard as a rock as does my upper and mid abdomen....Its the lower one that sits on top of your jeans I cant seem to get anywhere with. I dont feel any muscle in their at all. As I loose weight its going down but I want to help build muscle there and move this process along haha.
Is their any specific exercises or sit-ups I should try that will target this area specifically. What worked for you?
Right now I have like a two pac, my obliques look great and feel hard as a rock as does my upper and mid abdomen....Its the lower one that sits on top of your jeans I cant seem to get anywhere with. I dont feel any muscle in their at all. As I loose weight its going down but I want to help build muscle there and move this process along haha.
Is their any specific exercises or sit-ups I should try that will target this area specifically. What worked for you?
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holy crapola those jack knives look hard, I just googled it. I can barley get my legs off the ground for a flutter kick0
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Thank you, Ive seen this article, its helpful but im looking for like specific exercises. I already do strong lifts 3 days a week and cardio the other two days
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soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Right now I have like a two pac, my obliques look great and feel hard as a rock as does my upper and mid abdomen....Its the lower one that sits on top of your jeans I cant seem to get anywhere with. I dont feel any muscle in their at all. As I loose weight its going down but I want to help build muscle there and move this process along haha.
Honestly, until you lose the fat you don't know what's under there. You may not feel the muscle, but it may be there. Do you know how to effectively engage your core?0 -
Pushups & Squats, maybe throw in some Burpee Pushups too.
I did a move from P90X called the Prison Cell Push Up, and those kicked my rear.
All should be effective at building muscle, hence burning the fat around your midsection, hence displaying what abs you have.0 -
soldiergrl_101 wrote: »
Thank you, Ive seen this article, its helpful but im looking for like specific exercises. I already do strong lifts 3 days a week and cardio the other two days
Specific exercises won't remove the fat that is currently covering your abs, and you won't be building much in the way of muscle size while eating at a deficit.0 -
soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Right now I have like a two pac, my obliques look great and feel hard as a rock as does my upper and mid abdomen....Its the lower one that sits on top of your jeans I cant seem to get anywhere with. I dont feel any muscle in their at all. As I loose weight its going down but I want to help build muscle there and move this process along haha.
Honestly, until you lose the fat you don't know what's under there. You may not feel the muscle, but it may be there. Do you know how to effectively engage your core?
I have been trying to concentrate on this now that I have lost 40lbs because the workouts become easier. So I am trying to expand and build on my workouts while focusing more on things like tightening my core as I run and lift and stuff like that. But before I dont think I was, I was just trying to push through it without dying lol0 -
jeremywm1977 wrote: »Pushups & Squats, maybe throw in some Burpee Pushups too.
I did a move from P90X called the Prison Cell Push Up, and those kicked my rear.
All should be effective at building muscle, hence burning the fat around your midsection, hence displaying what abs you have.
Pushups help your midsection, I thought that was for your arms0 -
You don't really have upper and lower abs, they're all one muscle - you can't work out parts of them and not others. So if you have upper abs, you have lower ones, you just need to lower fat to reveal them.0
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amyrebeccah wrote: »soldiergrl_101 wrote: »jeremywm1977 wrote: »Pushups & Squats, maybe throw in some Burpee Pushups too.
I did a move from P90X called the Prison Cell Push Up, and those kicked my rear.
All should be effective at building muscle, hence burning the fat around your midsection, hence displaying what abs you have.
Pushups help your midsection, I thought that was for your arms
Actually, they help your chest the most, but they're a full-body exercise, and engage your core to keep to the proper plank-like form.
Interesting. I started doing planks last week, I keep trying to get my butt lower, currently I look like a cat in heat, the butt goes up the head and back go down lol0 -
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Abs are so ambitious, I'd be happy with a collarbone.0
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All this isolation work advice and mentality is ill-advised. Sounds like you have stubborn fat in your lower abs. What worked for me (6 pack at age 46) is heavy-compound movements that work the core. For example: Deadlifts. With heavy weight. Squats (heavy barbell squats). Add in 2 times a week of high intensity cardio such as jump rope or sprints or stationary bike sprint intervals. Keep the calories in check (slight deficit). I do not do "ab work" because I lift heavy weight off the ground, and the abs are stabilizers. Build muscle, torch fat, and your abs will show up one day.0
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I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.0
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...deadlifts are more important THAN the cardio*0
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I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
Strong =\= developed in terms of aesthetics unfortunately. I have a "strong" core, and can pull upper 400's without a belt, but my abs are very shallow and you cannot really see the tendinious inscriptions unless under certain lighting. This is also hovering around 10% BF too...0 -
I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.0 -
I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
This!!!0 -
I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
awww @usmcmp I do love it when you use big words....
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hanging windshield wipers hits the entire abdominal range and obliques. Still have to lose the fat over the muscle though.0
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I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
awww @usmcmp I do love it when you use big words....
Hahaha
@psych101 I felt they were important in this instance. Sometimes people think that lifting means getting bigger and getting stronger without realizing that you can get either bigger or stronger without gaining much in the other department. Stronglifts is a prime example of a program built for people to get stronger. Since many beginners do this program they also manage to gain a little bit of size, but usually only enough to support basic strength gains.
People forget this for some reason. You can get stronger without getting much bigger. It's why bodybuilders may do strength cycles, but generally avoid strength programs. They need to get bigger, not stronger. A strength cycle can help them break a plateau, but is slower size gains than a traditional bodybuilding program. You already knew this, I am just stating it for lurkers.0 -
Reverse crunches, double leg lifts with weights on, and those reverse crunches where you lift your legs straight in the air (with weights on) are all great. Do all the reverse crunches using just one side at a diagonal to hit those low front obliques, too.
I can't see my lower ab definition, but I can feel the muscle and see those obliques (I have my bodyfat layer down the center). I do these exercises listed above and bellydance isolation drills as my low ab iso work. I enjoy it I use full-core bracing in other parts of my workouts, too, as one should.
I also do 2 x 20 ab 'bracing' separately which strikes me as isolation work, but that includes low abs, so I'll mention it, too.0 -
I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
awww @usmcmp I do love it when you use big words....
Hahaha
@psych101 I felt they were important in this instance. Sometimes people think that lifting means getting bigger and getting stronger without realizing that you can get either bigger or stronger without gaining much in the other department. Stronglifts is a prime example of a program built for people to get stronger. Since many beginners do this program they also manage to gain a little bit of size, but usually only enough to support basic strength gains.
People forget this for some reason. You can get stronger without getting much bigger. It's why bodybuilders may do strength cycles, but generally avoid strength programs. They need to get bigger, not stronger. A strength cycle can help them break a plateau, but is slower size gains than a traditional bodybuilding program. You already knew this, I am just stating it for lurkers.
All these posts have been really informative thanks guys. I have seen lots of heavy lifters that are still big, they lift a lot which is intensive but some of them look obese...I don't want to look like that, I want to see muscle definition and continue to get smaller until I achieve my goal weight which is about another 40lbs0 -
V-ups, oblique ups, planks, burpies, yoga, spin. All these are great for abs, cyclists actually have the best abs because their core is engaged all the time0
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How do you know when you've lost enough weight and just aren't seeing them because you're not working your core enough?
I'm 5'1" and 103lbs, do hanging legs raises, bicycle crunches, sprinter crunches, plank, and side plank. Usually two/three days in a row and then a day off because that's what my schedule allows. Was doing cardio but giving my knee some rest.
Not sure if I need to loose more weight or ramp up sets/reps to see them. I have the start of definition, but no line down the center.0 -
Try adding weights to your workouts, but lowering your reps with more sets0
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I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
I was under the impression that targeting sarcoplasmic versus myofibrillar adaptations was bro-science.0 -
soldiergrl_101 wrote: »I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
awww @usmcmp I do love it when you use big words....
Hahaha
@psych101 I felt they were important in this instance. Sometimes people think that lifting means getting bigger and getting stronger without realizing that you can get either bigger or stronger without gaining much in the other department. Stronglifts is a prime example of a program built for people to get stronger. Since many beginners do this program they also manage to gain a little bit of size, but usually only enough to support basic strength gains.
People forget this for some reason. You can get stronger without getting much bigger. It's why bodybuilders may do strength cycles, but generally avoid strength programs. They need to get bigger, not stronger. A strength cycle can help them break a plateau, but is slower size gains than a traditional bodybuilding program. You already knew this, I am just stating it for lurkers.
All these posts have been really informative thanks guys. I have seen lots of heavy lifters that are still big, they lift a lot which is intensive but some of them look obese...I don't want to look like that, I want to see muscle definition and continue to get smaller until I achieve my goal weight which is about another 40lbs
That's because they don't care about body fat, just about making a weight class. Some of the ones with very barrel like stomachs are due to steroids and eating huge volumes of food.0 -
I was replying to the original post. But having read that, I put an exclamation point on my original recommendation. With the exception of actual 'weakness' in the lower abs (as opposed to just not feeling muscle there) isolation work in general is a waste of energy when you are doing a program like strong lifts, and doing so at a caloric deficit (which limits your volume). Strong lifts are OK, but I'm a bigger fan of other programs. Even so, strong lifts are pretty legit, and focusing on that should eventually address the lower ab weakness. You simply can't squat and deadlift heavy without a strong core. So focusing even more energy and focus on increasing squat and deadlift will do a lot more than any isolation work. The only exception is if you are FAILING on squat and/or deadlift due to weak abs. In which case, the supplementary isolation work would be helpful and even more important than the cardio. Why? Because the deadlifts and squats are more important to the cardio an you have to to support those lifts first (while in a caloric deficit). So I wouldn't go by how your abs look or feel while you're a work in progress. My abs totally sucked about a year ago, they were flabby and weak. I haven't done any ab work at all, just heavy weights, and my abs are made of steel now. Deadlifts, heavy--all the way. Best core exercise there is.
A strong core doesn't mean visible abs. Building abdominal aesthetics does take isolation work. In her case, she wants to add volume to the abdominal muscles which means more isolation work is needed in the hypertrophy range. She's not aiming to be a powerlifter with a strong core, she's aiming for added volume in the muscles. There's a big difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.
I was under the impression that targeting sarcoplasmic versus myofibrillar adaptations was bro-science.
Would you call the rep ranges bro-science? It's easier to get stronger in a 3-5 range, which is myofibrillar hypertrophy. It's easier to add lean mass/size in an 8-12 range, which is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Neither happens in a vacuum. Most studies I've seen trying to disprove it are done in beginners, which of course results in gains of strength and size.0
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