Question for people who have amazing abs...

liquidleaves

What kind of exercises got you there? How many reps of each and so on?? I feel like the lower abs are harder to work. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

DavPul

I most certainly do not have amazing abs but I'm going to take a swing here anyway.

According to your ticker, you have a substantial amount of weight left to lose. Continue to focus your efforts on losing more weight. You will not have amazing or even acceptable abs until your body fat level is much lower. No type or amount of abdominal exercise will change that one basic fat. Keep working your full body and keep losing weight.

dbmata

I have bloody amazing abs, like a frickin' rock wall. Full body exercises and yoga, and martial arts...

Since it's the middle of august though, I'm rocking my winter coat, and have them protected in a warming layer of fat.

fivethreeone

Visible abs come from a combination of genetics and overall body fat reduction, which in turn comes from a reasonable caloric deficit over time. When you lose the weight, you will eventually see abs, too.

I started to see my abs at 20% body fat after beginning a heavy lifting regimen.

Cadori

Visible abs come from a combination of genetics and overall body fat reduction, which in turn comes from a reasonable caloric deficit over time. When you lose the weight, you will eventually see abs, too.

I started to see my abs at 20% body fat after beginning a heavy lifting regimen.

^^^^ Listen to her. Her abs are amazing.

harlanJEN

My abs are a work in progress, so I'm not chiming in because of their amazing-ness.

What DavPul just told you ..is correct.

We can't choose where we lean up, can't spot reduce. AB exercises doesn't = amazing ABs. Simply doesn't work that way. The Core and Ab musculature can be worked and rock solid strong, but it's not going to show as long as fat is covering that beautiful muscle. Actually, targeting abs TOO MUCH can be counter-productive.

My advice? Eat well. Train hard. Sleep well. drink water. Focus on strength training and compound lifts. Deadlifts have done more for my midriff than any AB crunch ever could.

fivethreeone

Visible abs come from a combination of genetics and overall body fat reduction, which in turn comes from a reasonable caloric deficit over time. When you lose the weight, you will eventually see abs, too.

I started to see my abs at 20% body fat after beginning a heavy lifting regimen.

^^^^ Listen to her. Her abs are amazing.

:flowerforyou:

trojanbb

No ab exercises. Well maybe a few sets every year or so. Just deadlifts, rows, and more deadlifts.

CoderGal

I have bloody amazing abs, like a frickin' rock wall. Full body exercises and yoga, and martial arts...

Since it's the middle of august though, I'm rocking my winter coat, and have them protected in a warming layer of fat.

:laugh:

Seriously though, most are not going to see abs until a much lower body fat. With that being said, the BIA scales were spitting out 17% at me and I was underweight and I still had a pot belly. The problem? I didn't pick up any type of resistance training when I was heavier to help me retain LBM so the weight I was losing was muscle that I could have been rocking. My preference is now heavy lifting (lifting 85% of my heaviest rep for ~5 reps). While I do not have amazing abs, I have a significantly flatter and firmer middle, and a lot less health problems. I still don't have enough muscle to rock abs, I think I'd have to gain weight for that if I wanted to be either bit efficient. So for those who still have weight to lose I recommend taking up a full body heavy lifting program (and not concentrating on just abs, that's a terrible idea).

Alanhalil

I got checked 2 weeks or so ago and was down to 18% fat. I have lost weight since then yet still no abs on show here! So I guess everyone is different.

fivethreeone

I got checked 2 weeks or so ago and was down to 18% fat. I have lost weight since then yet still no abs on show here! So I guess everyone is different.

Men usually do not show till around the 10% mark.

Alanhalil

I got checked 2 weeks or so ago and was down to 18% fat. I have lost weight since then yet still no abs on show here! So I guess everyone is different.

Men usually do not show till around the 10% mark.

Interesting. Noted. *thumbs up*

liquidleaves

Thanks to everyone for all the great feedback. Will def continue working on myself and my goals. You all rock!

YoBecca

I have amazing abs. I can do 57 full sit ups (no one holding my feet) in one minute. I can hold plank (hands apart and facing up, no "praying" and no teepee booty) for more than 5 minutes. I can row boat like a champ. But, b/c I'm rocking 20+ extra lbs, you can't see a damn thing.

I love having strong abs, and I disagree with people who say an workouts are useless - but they aren't a quick fix for getting a six pack, without fat loss.

ndj1979

I got checked 2 weeks or so ago and was down to 18% fat. I have lost weight since then yet still no abs on show here! So I guess everyone is different.

you need to hit about 10 to 14% range for them to start to show ...10 and under is shredded...

I am about 13% and mine show some without flexing...but when I flex I can definitely see where I would be at like 11% body fat ..but it is freaking hard work to get that last three percent off!

ndj1979

OP as you still have a bit to lose you would benefit from some kind of three day a week total body workout that incorpoates compound lifts and then mixing in some kind of cardio/HIIT twice a week to help burn off more fat...once you get down to x percent body fat you could go more to a four day upper/lower type routine with less cardio ..

I probably work out abs about once a week for 15-20 minutes ...

ABs are made in the kitchen applies here as well ...keep eating in a calorie deficit and try to stay healthy 80% of time...

ndj1979

I have amazing abs. I can do 57 full sit ups (no one holding my feet) in one minute. I can hold plank (hands apart and facing up, no "praying" and no teepee booty) for more than 5 minutes. I can row boat like a champ. But, b/c I'm rocking 20+ extra lbs, you can't see a damn thing.

I love having strong abs, and I disagree with people who say an workouts are useless - but they aren't a quick fix for getting a six pack, without fat loss.

they are good when your body fat % is in a range where your abs will pop ..but if you are 20% body fat ab work is not really going to help ....

originalcookiemonster

Came in expecting pics, leaving UNHAPPY I SAY!!!!!

YoBecca

I have amazing abs. I can do 57 full sit ups (no one holding my feet) in one minute. I can hold plank (hands apart and facing up, no "praying" and no teepee booty) for more than 5 minutes. I can row boat like a champ. But, b/c I'm rocking 20+ extra lbs, you can't see a damn thing.

I love having strong abs, and I disagree with people who say an workouts are useless - but they aren't a quick fix for getting a six pack, without fat loss.

they are good when your body fat % is in a range where your abs will pop ..but if you are 20% body fat ab work is not really going to help ....

We can agree to disagree. I like having strong abs *even without the possibility of showing them off* - strange, I know, the being strong just for the sake of it and not for the aesthetics. What can I say, I love to win plank-offs.

AndyBloot

I got checked 2 weeks or so ago and was down to 18% fat. I have lost weight since then yet still no abs on show here! So I guess everyone is different.

you need to hit about 10 to 14% range for them to start to show ...10 and under is shredded...

I am about 13% and mine show some without flexing...but when I flex I can definitely see where I would be at like 11% body fat ..but it is freaking hard work to get that last three percent off!

This is unfortunate news :-(
How do you measure body fat %
Is it through a doc or can you do it yourself?

soysauce6626

I have decent abs... What actually made my abs put on mass were squats and deadliest. As for isolations I found the that leg raises and weighted crunches worked the best for me.