How Long if....

BrittanyBrines

Weird question, but bear with me. I am wanting to get my abs back. If I did 20 reps of 5 different exercises every other day, how long would it take around to start seeing my abs? I am also walking every other day. I am 115 lbs currently. If that is all I did, how long would I see results? I am doing things like Ab Ripper X exercises along with crunches with dumbbells. any thoughts? This is how I got my abs before, but I can't remember how long it took. Just having an idea time frame will help motivate me. Also, is it okay to do abs every single day or do I have to do it every other day for it to work better?

BrittanyBrines

bump.....lol I'm anxious!

halleymw

abs are made in the kitchen. Google Scoobys guide to 6 pack abs.
Mike

LoraF83

You can exercise those muscles all you want, but they won't show up unless you lose body fat. From what I've read, they become visible somewhere between 14-18% body fat for women.

mmapags

You can exercise those muscles all you want, but they won't show up unless you lose body fat. From what I've read, they become visible somewhere between 14-18% body fat for women.

Yup, this is it!

zaph0d

it would take however long it takes to get to a relatively low body fat percentage. doing a bunch of ab exercises is frankly a waste of your time.

toriaenator

it really depends on your body fat which needs to be quite low for anything to show up, even if your muscles are super strong!

Heyyleigh

They are right, nothing u can do but lose fat, u cant target areas. It wont hurt so keep it up.

BrittanyBrines

Okay, so tips on hours to loose body fat then. I am not sure what I am st now. I am 115 and 5.4.

ixap

You are pretty thin already, so I imagine you are not overeating and don't have a lot to lose at all.
I would consider adding some heavy weight training to help with body composition - you will build some muscle (you will not get bulky, just get firm) and lose some fat, if indeed you still have a little bit you want gone. If you use free weights (dumbbells / barbells) you will be using your core to stabilize, and this will help develop your abs too.

zaph0d

Okay, so tips on hours to loose body fat then. I am not sure what I am st now. I am 115 and 5.4.

20% deficit from TDEE
~1g protein per lb LBM
~.35g fat per lb BM

Lift heavy.

ETA: on second thought, maybe just eat TDEE. Forget the deficit for a few months.

And read this for inspiration http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

BrittanyBrines

OKay guys, I am going to get some Fat Calipers but until then, I've done some online BFP sites and have done quite a few. I know they aren't super accurate, but they will give me an idea. Most of them said I am between 18% and 17%. So, now I can start working on my abs. My one question in my original post was can I workout my abs every day or is it better and will I see more results doing them every other day?

And doing what I posted in the original post, ball park, how long will it take me to start seeing results? I am going to get the calipers and see how accurate those websites were because I'm sure they were off, but even if they were lower than what I am, it can't be by a ton?

Anyways, thoughts? Tips? I can definitely feel definition of my abs when I flex. They feel nice and firm, I just can't see them yet. Also, I recently had a baby. He is going on 9 months. I am now smaller than what I was before I got pregnant, but I'm wondering if the pregnancy is causing it to be harder to see my abs?

BrittanyBrines

Bump

BrittanyBrines

* Wanna know what all y'all pros have to say.

witchy_wife

From what I have read, muscles repair themselves mostly the day after the workout so I would guess it's better to let the abs have a rest day and do something else inbetween.

mmapags

Losing body fat is not linear. The "how long" question can't be effectively answered. The best you can do is set a reasonable defict, like 20 to 25% below, TDEE, do some strength training and a little cardio to help burn calories and see.

edited to add: heavily working your abs will not make it happen any faster. Some ab work as part of an overall routine is fine but it is far more a funtion of lowering body fat than working the abs.

LoraF83

OKay guys, I am going to get some Fat Calipers but until then, I've done some online BFP sites and have done quite a few. I know they aren't super accurate, but they will give me an idea. Most of them said I am between 18% and 17%. So, now I can start working on my abs. My one question in my original post was can I workout my abs every day or is it better and will I see more results doing them every other day?

And doing what I posted in the original post, ball park, how long will it take me to start seeing results? I am going to get the calipers and see how accurate those websites were because I'm sure they were off, but even if they were lower than what I am, it can't be by a ton?

Anyways, thoughts? Tips? I can definitely feel definition of my abs when I flex. They feel nice and firm, I just can't see them yet. Also, I recently had a baby. He is going on 9 months. I am now smaller than what I was before I got pregnant, but I'm wondering if the pregnancy is causing it to be harder to see my abs?

It still comes down to BF%. If you're at 18% and you still can't see your abs, you need to drop your % until you can see them. Some women may have visible abs at 18%, some may have to go all the way down to 14% (or lower) before they have visible abs.

I agree with the post that said eat at TDEE and lift heavy. Check out Strong Lifts or The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Follow the protein and fat intake levels recommended in that post.

You don't need to work your abs independantly (espeically if you are doing compound lifts), but if you chose to do so, they don't need to be worked every day - like any other muscle, they need a break.

Your abs are already there, you just have to lose the fat covering them to make them visible.

DeathKitty23

Abbs come from diet