Abs

vanrunninggirl

I am approximately half way through P90x. So I made a fitness goal of seeing (even if ever-so-slightly) some ab definition. However, I'm wondering if this fitness goal should be replaced with another. The reason I say this is that everyone (not everyone, but certainly most women) has a spot on their body where the fat seems to be persistent. For example, Portia de Rossi was anorexic, extremely underweight at 5'10 and 90 or so pounds, and she still had fat on her thighs and stomach.

I started at a healthy weight and BMI, I am now on the low end of "normal" at a BMI of 20. I can feel the abs under a slightly smaller layer of fat. I've lost a few pounds, and have yet to measure inches lost. I am an apple body, not a pear shape - I gain weight in my belly and boobs, and lose weight in my legs and hips. I have a small waist now (26 inches) but I have never had muscle definition. I think it's easier for some people, Oprah was 160 lbs with amazing abs! Should I change my goal to a certain body fat percentage or something like that instead?

eillamarie

Because of your body shape maybe your goal should be to see definition, but not get a full on bulging 6-pack. Because of my body shape-more or less an hourglass with wide shoulders from years of swimming and I've just always had wide hips...I was able to achieve the outline of a 6 pack and you could see each muscle, but each muscle didn't bulge out. I'd say definition is doable for everybody, but not the bulging muscles (does that make sense?). That sort of 6-pack seems to only be doable for women who have a triangle shape (wide shoulders, narrow hips)-the typical elite athlete build. Of course there are exceptions, but I'd say in your case go for the definition, it's still super strong & sexy!

Muscle definition is all about muscle:body fat....because of your shape you may not be able to achieve the hard core 6 pack without being extreamly skinny.

MisdemeanorM

I had great results with abs on P90x. No definition really (yet), but I could really really feel the strength in the abs. My old gym class ab work outs were NOTHING after only a couple weeks on P90x. I think in the future (I stopped P90x 2 months in at... well.. turns out 2 months pregnant because of fatigue and if I can't do it all out I prefer to go to the gym instead) but in the future even if I am not doing the full program I think I would put the ab DVD back in my routine. I had similar results in a 15 min ab class 3 days a week back in college so I think it is the fact that I actually did it consistently and hitting all the ab groups, not necessarily specifically exactly WHAT I did that made it work. I am sure there are other programs out there too that do the same thing, and maybe rotating them would give some variety (it gets boring to me), but I think they'd be pretty much the same thing. I don't think that you will find some specific program that puts a 6 pack (or even just a line) on the abs of a woman who can't get them otherwise. You can't choose where the fat burns from, only tone what's under it.

AmeliaDouglas

This topic is my motivation right now. I haven't really lost any more weight since this summer but have been working out like nuts (P90X and Turbo Fire). I love Chalean's wisdom: "The most important exercise to get 6-pack abs is walking; specifically, walking AWAY from the refrigerator." I feel so strong but ice-cream and peanut butter have foiled any chance to actually see my muscles. I can tell I have abs in there.... somewhere... but they are hiding! I am finally losing weight again and am about to complete Turbo Fire. My BMI is at 23 and my WiiFit thinks I should lose another 5 lbs. I want to lose another 10 pounds. Hopefully when I reach my goal weight I will finally reap the rewards of a whole year of intense exercise. I already look pretty darn good and it is so motivating to watch those abs reveal themselves! When I finish Turbo Fire I'll make up a new routine combining all my workout programs and take it to the next level!