Trainer won't let me work on my abs yet :(

andrejjorje

Even you do abs work like crazy you won't see them until you go below 12% BF but arms and legs yes. Belly fat is the last to go (at least for men). For woman is thighs and then abs. Arms are the 1st you're going to see big results.
It seems that he knows what he's doing.

Hello. I had a couple of sessions with my trainer and he asked me what I wanted to work on this month. I told him my abs. He flat out said no, either my arms or legs I had to choose. I kind of went back and forth with him because, you know, I paid for him and I know what my problem areas are and I know what I really want to work on but he did not budge. I am really discouraged now. I'm working on my arms and doing cardio but my stomach is still so big like i'm 5 months pregnant.

Is there something in the books that says you can't train your abs first or could this be something he just doesn't want to do with me? Another worker at the gym told me that since i'm paying for this gym membership and this trainer he should work for me and I agree.

margieward82

Its better to cut the fat first, Ive cut mine down to about 13%, been working on the abs for 2 months and I still can't see anything, the fat needs to be down to atleast 10% before you will see any abs coming through so all the cardio will pay off and in no time you will get them abs through

These numbers are not correct for everyone, especially women! I had a six-pack all summer with 12-14% BF.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

Its better to cut the fat first, Ive cut mine down to about 13%, been working on the abs for 2 months and I still can't see anything, the fat needs to be down to atleast 10% before you will see any abs coming through so all the cardio will pay off and in no time you will get them abs through

These numbers are not correct for everyone, especially women! I had a six-pack all summer with 12-14% BF.

wow, where did those original numbers come from? I think I was at 18% (could have been a little less, but not much) with great abs in November....

margieward82

Its better to cut the fat first, Ive cut mine down to about 13%, been working on the abs for 2 months and I still can't see anything, the fat needs to be down to atleast 10% before you will see any abs coming through so all the cardio will pay off and in no time you will get them abs through

These numbers are not correct for everyone, especially women! I had a six-pack all summer with 12-14% BF.

wow, where did those original numbers come from? I think I was at 18% (could have been a little less, but not much) with great abs in November....

Some guy earlier on.. And I've notice other mininum BF% get thrown around in here for seeing abs that simply aren't true! Like You said, it's different for everyone! I hold all my weight in the middle so I need to be leaner, you (obviously) did not and Looked amzing! Seeing the abs requies that one have a low BF and strong ab muscles and good genetics, but there is no magical BF number that one must hit ... that's just silly!

andrejjorje

Of course is different but there should be a reference.
Man 10%-12%
Women 12%-14%
You can see abs above these no. but you cannot see fat below these no.
Hope is clear now.

Its better to cut the fat first, Ive cut mine down to about 13%, been working on the abs for 2 months and I still can't see anything, the fat needs to be down to atleast 10% before you will see any abs coming through so all the cardio will pay off and in no time you will get them abs through

These numbers are not correct for everyone, especially women! I had a six-pack all summer with 12-14% BF.

wow, where did those original numbers come from? I think I was at 18% (could have been a little less, but not much) with great abs in November....

Some guy earlier on.. And I've notice other mininum BF% get thrown around in here for seeing abs that simply aren't true! Like You said, it's different for everyone! I hold all my weight in the middle so I need to be leaner, you (obviously) did not and Looked amzing! Seeing the abs requies that one have a low BF and strong ab muscles and good genetics, but there is no magical BF number that one must hit ... that's just silly!

snaus70

Until you cut the majority of the fat around your abdominal area, there really isn't any point in doing specific ab training. There are tons of workouts you can do that can develop your abs without you doing any ab-specific workout at all. Things like tricep-pushdowns, squats, dumbbell rows...anything that requires that you brace your body is basically going to engage your abs. Listen to your trainer. Stick with it. He knows what he is talking about and is only trying to help you. I hope this helped!

^^ This.

Here's the thing - you need to do cardio to burn off the fat. Doing arm and leg workouts will give you more immediate, positive results that you can be proud of and will push you to continue your efforts. Doing a bunch of crunches, planks, etc, now, will NOT give you the results you want. You need to burn the fat off, slim down, then work on building up your core. He's trying to put you on a track where you won't feel discouraged at not seeing results and quit.

Listen to him. You're paying him money for a reason. Give it a month. Then ask again.

These people totally nailed your answer.

Yup. Although, he just should have flat-out explained that to you. If he's not willing to share this sort of basic knowledge, then you may want to find another trainer.

I agree with all this. He knows what he is doing but if he can't explain it to you so that you don't get frustrated and confused, maybe you should take that into consideration.

jenniebean1680

He should have explained why:

Sit ups, crunches, and other ab work will not shrink your waistline. Losing bodyfat will. In fact, doing a lot of ab work right now could make your stomach look bigger, because you're building the muscle under the fat.

Doing abwork doesn't get you a sixpack. Losing bodyfat does.

You can't spot reduce. You have to drop bodyfat all over. There's nothing wrong with strenthening your core muscles, however. You want to be able to support your back as you exercise. Practice pulling your ab muscles in (not sucking in, you still have to breathe, just think about tucking them in towards your spine) during the day and as you work out. This way you are strengthening them and supporting your back, at least.

Keep doing that cardio, and lift hard and heavy! Your waist will trim down that way.

Oishii

Your abdominals are muscles. They are not there just to look pretty. I FEEL results in no time if I work them at all, and lose inches too (when not eating at a deficit, so not through lost fat). For me, though, it was push-ups that were the most effective so far.

Back before most women thought of having six-packs, they still worked on their abs. I would never, ever risk my fertility by attempting to get to the body fat percentages associated with a 6 pack, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't aim to have strong abs!

Mommy_Sans_The_Fat

Yeah had he just explained the reasons I would have understood. I'm not trying to get a six pack. I just want my stomach to go down. Nothing's working and I'm depressed now.

Nopedotjpeg

Yeah had he just explained the reasons I would have understood. I'm not trying to get a six pack. I just want my stomach to go down. Nothing's working and I'm depressed now.

There's no point in trying to attack abs from every single angle when you're overweight/obese. The abs main function is to support your back, and they are worked with all the compound lifts usually. Some basic planks or crunches may help, but you don't need a lot of volume. Also, I'm typing this with the assumption that you know you cannot spot reduce fat. It doesn't matter that you do 200000000 crunches. Your belly isn't going anywhere until you drop overall bodyfat.

EDIT: Misread what you said. Yeah, that's a problem if he didn't explain. What kind of routine is he having you do anyways?

Mommy_Sans_The_Fat

Yeah had he just explained the reasons I would have understood. I'm not trying to get a six pack. I just want my stomach to go down. Nothing's working and I'm depressed now.

There's no point in trying to attack abs from every single angle when you're overweight/obese. The abs main function is to support your back, and they are worked with all the compound lifts usually. Some basic planks or crunches may help, but you don't need a lot of volume. Also, I'm typing this with the assumption that you know you cannot spot reduce fat. It doesn't matter that you do 200000000 crunches. Your belly isn't going anywhere until you drop overall bodyfat.

EDIT: Misread what you said. Yeah, that's a problem if he didn't explain. What kind of routine is he having you do anyways?

He wasn't specific on what cardio to do. He just said do a ten minute warm-up before arm weights. Afterwards I do thirty minutes cardio. I see other newbies doing core strengthening and of course I just thought he was being pompous.

pg1girl

Its better to cut the fat first, Ive cut mine down to about 13%, been working on the abs for 2 months and I still can't see anything, the fat needs to be down to atleast 10% before you will see any abs coming through so all the cardio will pay off and in no time you will get them abs through

These numbers are not correct for everyone, especially women! I had a six-pack all summer with 12-14% BF.

Well that is very interesting because I am at about 24 percent body fat and my profile pic shows my abs. Obviously those numbers are not correct.

wow, where did those original numbers come from? I think I was at 18% (could have been a little less, but not much) with great abs in November....

Some guy earlier on.. And I've notice other mininum BF% get thrown around in here for seeing abs that simply aren't true! Like You said, it's different for everyone! I hold all my weight in the middle so I need to be leaner, you (obviously) did not and Looked amzing! Seeing the abs requies that one have a low BF and strong ab muscles and good genetics, but there is no magical BF number that one must hit ... that's just silly!

Mommy_Sans_The_Fat

So what's wrong with doing a total body workout? I spend a good two to three hours in the gym each time and most of it is doing cardio because the weights only take about thirty minutes to complete. I appreciate the feedback

thefuzz1290

I spend a good two to three hours in the gym each time and most of it is doing cardio because the weights only take about thirty minutes to complete.

^^^^^^^
That is why you're probably not seeing results, you're spending too much time in the gym. Also, your weight training routine shouldn't take only 30 minutes, even if its circuit training (which is basically more cardio). Unless you're a body builder doing 2 a day workouts, there's no reason to spend 3 hours in the gym.

If you want results, my suggestion is divide your time like this:

2/3 your time heavy strength training focusing on compound lifts
1/3 your time doing a moderate level of cardio

MrsSherrill

everyone is right so far. another little thing i have been told is if you want to workout your mid-section, do everything but that. Do everything besides ab workouts for many and the same reasons everyone has already said. until all the fat in the mid section is gone there is no point in working so hard to get abs. working on other areas like arms, legs and basic cardio will do wonders on the stomach. just stick with it

Lozze

Thing is while working your arms and legs you can work your abs too. Bring your stomach back to your belly button as much as you can while doing these exercises (i.e. suck your belly in!)

Everyone else is right though. You won't reduce your stomach by doing ab work. You'll reduce it by lowering your body fat. I've lost a lot of weight from my stomach area but have done almost no ab specific exercises since I started. None.

Nicola0000

Until you cut the majority of the fat around your abdominal area, there really isn't any point in doing specific ab training. There are tons of workouts you can do that can develop your abs without you doing any ab-specific workout at all. Things like tricep-pushdowns, squats, dumbbell rows...anything that requires that you brace your body is basically going to engage your abs. Listen to your trainer. Stick with it. He knows what he is talking about and is only trying to help you. I hope this helped!

Agree. Everyone has "abs", its just hidden under fat. He's doing you a favor as you'll do loads of ab exercises, your stomach wont shrink, then you'll be demotivated.

KristalDawnO

I really think it's a good idea to build your core while you're losing weight. You won't have the 'skin' like you would have otherwise. Even though you may not be able to see definition for a while, you'll be a lot tighter. Do planks, or crunches on your own. If he has you squatting and doing other weight training exercises, you'll be engaging your core. Try to be patient

Mommy_Sans_The_Fat

I wish I could show you what he has me doing. I have been doing the same routine with the same weights for three weeks now. My clothes are starting to feel tight again and the scale went up five whole pounds . I think I will try a different trainer. Thanks everyone.

tyfferz

I'm most likely repeating what everyone shared. Don't only be focused on your abs-be focused on your overall health and body. In August 2011, I joined a boot camp because I was overweight and found out that I was 217 when my trainer first weighed / measured me. My overall goal was to get healthy by watching what I eat as well as implementing exercise in my daily life style. I am 5'4 and I looked pregnant with huge arms.

However, as of today...even though I have some belly...I have lost over 22 lbs as well as inches in my arms, legs, abs BUT I still have some ways to go. I'm currently doing TRX under her training to not only get toned but to work on my core. I've also started running 3-4 miles every other day.

Another thing that you have to consider is your eating habits (i.e., the type of foods you eat) and how often do you eat.

Trust your trainer. He may have said it in a manner that was wrong but I do believe he is correct in what he is trying to relay to you. Discuss this also with management and if you are still unsatisfied with his communication skills...you may want to look into another trainer. But, keep this in mind...don't expect the workout to be how you want it or when you want it--go according to the workout plan that a trainer is suggesting because this is what they are licensed / trained for.

Exercising and being healthy is not temporary, it is a permanent lifestyle. Good luck