What should I eat to help me get abs while I gain weight

SkinnyLeon

I've always been skinny so I'm currently eating more calories than normal to bulk up. I go to the gym about 4-5 days a week and want to have abs but I've heard you get abs mostly from what you eat. Any tips on how to gain weight and get abs at the same time?

terrie_k

I don't have abs, they are under my layer of fat. But I would assume Protein is key. Lots of protein.

Sued0nim

Protein ..hit your minimum (0.64-08g per lb bodyfat)
Eat in surplus by 500 calories

Progressive overload ..focus on compound lifts mainly ..some isolation if more experienced

psuLemon

Gaining weight and progressive lifting can develop the muscles in your mid section, but you will need to cut after your bulk to reveal them.

wanderingrat

Don't overwork yourself. You say you go to the gym 4-5 days a week. Question is though, what exactly are you doing at the gym? Balance is the key, you need to stimulate your abs enough to make your body think what's there is not enough. But after that you need around 48 hours of REST (one day inbetween) from the ab exercises for the body to be able to regenerate and build up stronger muscles, then you go and stimulate them again. Going that many days is fine, if you like going to the gym, but you will need to do a split training.

What terrie said is also part of the deal, the visibility of your abs is also connected to the percentage of bodyfat you have, but also part of your genetics and where they determine where you individually store the fat you have and need.

So really the key is work hard and rest enough.

Any food supplements and whatnot are actually not really necessary unless you're a pro athlete. Key here is a normal, balanced diet, that'll provide you with enough of everything to make your exercises pay off. If you have trouble keeping the calories up with the balanced diet (don't add the extra calories you want for adding weight in form of fastfood or sweets), you can go for a gainer shake or a simple protein shake and mix it with milk instead of water to give you a little extra boost.

My tipp since you seem to have a membership at a gym: Go up to one of those handy people with gym-logo t-shirts or ask at the front desk and have a certified trainer help you create an individual training schedule for your needs. They will also keep a watchful eye on how you execute the exercises, which is another major key to success.

SkinnyLeon

wanderingrat wrote: »

(don't add the extra calories you want for adding weight in form of fastfood or sweets)

I've always wondered about that, at the end of my day if fast food is the only option I wonder if I should eat that to hit my calories or just skip the meal.

zyxst

SkinnyLeon wrote: »

wanderingrat wrote: »

(don't add the extra calories you want for adding weight in form of fastfood or sweets)

I've always wondered about that, at the end of my day if fast food is the only option I wonder if I should eat that to hit my calories or just skip the meal.

I'd say if you've hit your protein goal, eat the fast food. Some times having fast food or sweets will hit your macro/micro goals better than another salad.

psuLemon

SkinnyLeon wrote: »

wanderingrat wrote: »

(don't add the extra calories you want for adding weight in form of fastfood or sweets)

I've always wondered about that, at the end of my day if fast food is the only option I wonder if I should eat that to hit my calories or just skip the meal.

Eat the fast food. If you don't hit your calorie surplus consistently, you won't gain weight. And drinking a mass gainer is NO better than eating some fast food. BTW, fast food can be very healthy.

Springfield1970

As long as you've hit your protein requirement, .8g of protein per lb of body weight, eaten your Fibre, and micronutrients, you can finish off with whatever you like.

On this forum alone we have built muscle from pizzas, beer, burgers, you name it, we've eaten it!

That DOESNT mean we eat high calorie density food all the time. Far from it, take a look at my diary when I'm bulking and I usually eat at least 8 veg a day, berries, oily fish, whole foods. You don't get extra points once you've eaten enough nutrients. So eat those doughnuts if you have to!

Yi5hedr3

Not gonna happen. Yes you will have abs, but no, you won't be able to SEE them! Not until you are down to 10-11% Body Fat, which won't happen on a bulk. (only on a cut).

jessef593

It's not what you eat that get you abs. When people say abs are made in the kitchen, they mean it's by eating the appropriate amount to show your abs by removing the top layers of fat(caloric deficit). In order to have larger more visible abs you need to eat at a surplus in conjunction with an ab building workouts.

My workout which I've seen good progress with.

-Hanging leg raises 4x8-12 (controlled reps and I stretch my abs at the bottom of each rep)
-ab rollout 4x8-12 (I set myself up at the footwork squares so I can try to go past the lines alittle more each time)
-cavalier side plank crossovers 3x12
-one handed cable side crunches 3x10
-some sort of lower ab work 3x failure

I always walk away with an amazing ab pump and even bulking they're continue to show even with added fat gain so they're definitely seeing some size increase.

Springfield1970

To build abs eat at a sensible calorie excess, and do 3 x week all body weight lifting progressively getting heavier.

I have abs, and not a single crunch or isolation exercise was done(I can't as I have injury there and risk tearing muscle). Compound lifting, sprinting, cycling.

They'll get covered by a nice layer of fat during your bulk.

That's why God invented cutting. But take it slow or you'll lose what you built.