LEAN WOMEN W/ ABS! HOW DID YOU DO IT?

H4rpy

This thread is made of helpfulness and win. Thank you. I you all!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

cad39too

Here's my personal method:

No clean eating

No cardio (none in the past six months, anyway)

No crunches or isolated ab work

Yes moderate calorie deficit (TDEE-15%)

Yes patience

Yes body fat reduction

Yes heavy lifting


That's all.

That...except for the no cardio

summer8it

I didn't see this thread yesterday, but I wound up putting up a blog post about it...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/summer8it/view/best-abs-of-my-life-at-39-588977

MissKitty9

I walk every day (okay, almost every day) during my lunch & do an hour-long Pilates class twice a week (athletic Pilates, with bands, weights, balls). I still need to reduce body fat to get really defined abs, but I noticed a big difference after upping the frequency of going to my Pilates class. This doesn't work for everyone, though

BinaryPulsar

I've always had visible abs. I'm a contemporary dancer, and lean, and as others have mentioned I don't carry fat in my mid-section. And I am a mother of two and getting older, so I lift heavy weights now to retain and continue improving my fitness level (I need to work at it more now than I did before I had children). Also flow yoga really does make a huge difference in my core strength. Weights are enough for aesthetics, but as a dancer I need a stronger core for the body weight strength that is required in dance. That does not mean doing crunches. It means full body movements that use the core strength to maintain form, balance and grace. We do yoga as our warm up conditioning before dancing.

Jessie__86

I am struggling with this. I am very active but my lower abs wont catch up to my obliques and upper abs. My stomach looks very unproportional! Im getting pretty depressed and am starting to think that it may just be loose skin from having back to back babies. I hope not!

BusyRaeNOTBusty

OP, I see "abs" in one of your pictures. You are already pretty lean and you are young. I'm thinking that maybe the reason you are not seeing the definition you want is frankly because your muscles are too small. You might benefit from doing a bulking and cutting cycle.

Lleldiranne

I still have a lower belly pooch, but my upper abs are getting pretty good (although I still look forward to having abs like 531).

I lift heavy (btw, my gym membership is $10 a month, at a national chain, because I don't want the classes or tanning room or anything … so that may be more affordable ). Compound lifts work the core - squats, bench press (when done properly), rows, etc. I add in a few ab isolations - russian twist and plank mostly.

No_Finish_Line

Mirey had a very good answer.

there are any number of ways to build abs. Virtually every form of excersize engages your core.

Are there some forms of excersize that will get you there faster? probably... but nothing will get you there so fast that patience won't be the key factor.

The 'best' way to get abs is going to depend on a lot of things including your personal perferences and what equipment you have access to.

that being said, i do personally believe this program is going to help a lot of people get where they want to be ab wise. It takes less then 5 min. theres like 9 progressive routines, i've been doing it for years and i'm on like level six. If you do want to do direct ab work, i highly recommend this, or at least the hanging leg raises.

http://www.equationsheets.com/LegendaryAbs.pdf

DymonNdaRgh40

Having patience is the hardest part....

FabulousKP

Bump! Great info!!

FrnkLft

Here's my personal method:

No clean eating

No cardio (none in the past six months, anyway)

No crunches or isolated ab work

Yes moderate calorie deficit (TDEE-15%)

Yes patience

Yes body fat reduction

Yes heavy lifting


That's all.

You're the man.



As for what "routine" will get you there... no routine will. Getting the body you want is all about building the muscle, but so much more about lowering the bodyfat %.

...and lowering bodyfat % is all about diet. Period. Keep in mind your boobs are made of fat too, and you don't get to choose where the weight comes off, that is due to genetics. So be ready to compromise or change your goals, and that's fine really, you need to adjust to suit yourself.

cafeaulait7

^^^ Yep, I'm not interested in a completely flat lower tummy because my body says Bye to my boobs long before that fat comes off. It's not much fat when I'm slender, so I'll keep the boobs and the 'feminine' little pooch. I also get to eat more that way, lol. Incredibly low body fat is not for me, personally.

FrnkLft

^^^ Yep, I'm not interested in a completely flat lower tummy because my body says Bye to my boobs long before that fat comes off. It's not much fat when I'm slender, so I'll keep the boobs and the 'feminine' little pooch. I also get to eat more that way, lol. Incredibly low body fat is not for me, personally.

And THAT is good with most men btw. We like some soft curves Just not sloppy curves.

sixpacklady

bump

usmcmp

Here's my personal method:

No clean eating

No cardio (none in the past six months, anyway)

No crunches or isolated ab work

Yes moderate calorie deficit (TDEE-15%)

Yes patience

Yes body fat reduction

Yes heavy lifting


That's all.

This. This is exactly how I did it.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

I cleaned up my eating habits a bit, but firmly believe in moderation on occasion and lift heavy things and put them back down.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

Here's my personal method:

No clean eating

No cardio (none in the past six months, anyway)

No crunches or isolated ab work

Yes moderate calorie deficit (TDEE-15%)

Yes patience

Yes body fat reduction

Yes heavy lifting


That's all.

You're the man.



As for what "routine" will get you there... no routine will. Getting the body you want is all about building the muscle, but so much more about lowering the bodyfat %.

...and lowering bodyfat % is all about diet. Period. Keep in mind your boobs are made of fat too, and you don't get to choose where the weight comes off, that is due to genetics. So be ready to compromise or change your goals, and that's fine really, you need to adjust to suit yourself.

Uhm, except fivethreeone is a WOman, not a MAN. A hot one, at that.

FrnkLft

Uhm, except fivethreeone is a WOman, not a MAN. A hot one, at that.

Believe me, I noticed. :drinker:

JoRocka

table push aways
fork put downs
compound lifting at 50-90% of my 1 RMP