Question for the guys!

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cholibear
cholibear Posts: 86
in Fitness and Exercise
My boyfriend works out about 4 or 5 days a week and looks great I might add ;)
He used to be crazy skinny and started his new high protein working out lifestyle and has since gained a lot of muscle mass. His muscles are primarily in his chest/back/arms.
The question is, he really wants a nice set of cut abs. Now, he doesn't want to lose any of the muscle he has worked so hard for, so cutting calories and doing tons of cardio makes him nervous.

I was wondering, what is some advice to get great looking abs, without compromising his already gained muscle?
thanks boys :)

Replies

  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Abs will show after he cuts down his body fat %. If he's building muscles primarily then his abs should be developing. Ask him to do ab workouts (I suggest crunches. Lots and lots of crunches).
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    My boyfriend works out about 4 or 5 days a week and looks great I might add ;)
    He used to be crazy skinny and started his new high protein working out lifestyle and has since gained a lot of muscle mass. His muscles are primarily in his chest/back/arms.
    The question is, he really wants a nice set of cut abs. Now, he doesn't want to lose any of the muscle he has worked so hard for, so cutting calories and doing tons of cardio makes him nervous.

    I was wondering, what is some advice to get great looking abs, without compromising his already gained muscle?
    thanks boys :)

    He can probably maintain most of his muscle mass and gain visible ab's by doing some maintenance calories and working towards a body re-composition. Basically, his lifting days should be higher in protein, carbs, and lower in fat and his calorie goal should be for maintenance, not bulking or cutting. His non-lifting days should be higher in protein, fat, and lower in carbs, maybe 15% of his calories from carbs. Make sure to include probably at least 4 days of cardio each week at 30-minutes a pop. That's something that might work well for him. If progress starts to slow down he can always reduce his carb in-take on lifting days and just keep the carbs to before / after lifting.

    Minimize, alcohol, and keep cheat meals to once per week.
  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 616 Member
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    Eat at a moderate caloric deficit, lift heavy and eat adequate amount of protein.

    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.
  • Cr357
    Cr357 Posts: 238
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    Eat at a moderate caloric deficit, lift heavy and eat adequate amount of protein.

    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.
    good advice^^^^^
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
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    Eat at a moderate caloric deficit, lift heavy and eat adequate amount of protein.

    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.

    Agree...I am shocked someone mentioned that he add lots of crunches...

    He should just lower his calories and add a little cardio...not much...but just maybe 60 to 90 mins a week should do...Like walking on an incline of a treadmill or doing the stair stepper...
  • Cr357
    Cr357 Posts: 238
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    Eat at a moderate caloric deficit, lift heavy and eat adequate amount of protein.

    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.

    Agree...I am shocked someone mentioned that he add lots of crunches...

    He should just lower his calories and add a little cardio...not much...but just maybe 60 to 90 mins a week should do...Like walking on an incline of a treadmill or doing the stair stepper...
    exactly
  • ster81
    ster81 Posts: 249
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    Eat at a moderate caloric deficit, lift heavy and eat adequate amount of protein.

    Doing 1,000,000 crunches isn't going to accomplish anything if body fat isn't dropped.

    Agree...I am shocked someone mentioned that he add lots of crunches...

    He should just lower his calories and add a little cardio...not much...but just maybe 60 to 90 mins a week should do...Like walking on an incline of a treadmill or doing the stair stepper...
    exactly

    No need to repeat if it its already said /\
  • Cr357
    Cr357 Posts: 238
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    No need to repeat if it its already said /\
    Sorry to offend you in a public forum... anything else?
  • ster81
    ster81 Posts: 249
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    No need to repeat if it its already said /\
    Sorry to offend you in a public forum... anything else?
    Did I offend you? I was just quoting all of what you guys said.. I was agreeing with u...
  • ster81
    ster81 Posts: 249
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    I just re-read it... I should have said no need for "me" to say it if its already said...
  • Cr357
    Cr357 Posts: 238
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    I just re-read it... I should have said no need for "me" to say it if its already said...
    a misunderstanding, no problem
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    I've dropped from 245 down to 225 and I've been measuring just arms and waist. Arms are still at 16.5" while the waist size has gone down at least 2 inches now. (Probably more. I wasn't measuring waist at first). I'm keeping protein at nearly 1 gram per pound of body weight, I do 30 min of cardio 4-5 days a week, and continue to lift 4 days a week.

    Calories I'm keeping at about a 500 a day defect and I'm taking down nearly 1 lb a week without losing much muscle mass if any. I do eat back cardio calories but I'm not measuring strength training calories or trying to gain that back. Seems to be working well for me. I haven't seen any decrease in strength and like I said my arm measurements are the same as ever. I'm sure my chest has dropped a bit but honestly it needed too cause there's some fat there. I'm totally happy with the fat loss and muscle retention so far.

    I think I still have another month or two before I can start seeing abs but my love handles are pretty much non-existent now. He is going to have to be on a slight negative calorie goal or he'll never lose that fat.
  • cholibear
    cholibear Posts: 86
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    thank you everyone!! great advice
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,167 Member
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    What's his current bf%? Go on a 300 calorie deficit under his maintenance. If he did a bulk with 500 cals or over and and ate anything he wanted he probably gained a lot of fat and will eventually lose a lot of muscle in the progress of cutting. This is why I won't go on bulks with more than 300 calories over.

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