Help! I need the dream abs

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,718 Member
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    Those pictures of my tummy was 7 lbs ago and I still want to lose another 12 lbs and get down to 115. But I do realize that low body fat percentage is the key for abs..I am currently around 126ish..Its just taking forever to get rid of my last 10 lbs. I do cardio 3 times a week and p90x weights dvds 3 times a week but its a recent thing so I havent gotten too much of results yet.Any advice on how to get rid of the last 10 lbs faster?
    While pounds do matter to a point, what you're shooting for is more a composition issue IMO. For many of my fitness competitors, we worked more on compound movements (heavy) with an emphasis of short rest times in between. As well as a shift in higher protein consumption (25/45/30) to prep for shows.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • tressieazbill
    tressieazbill Posts: 59 Member
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    I don't think I would mind have abs like that! Right now I am working at just getting it FLAT! :P I have lost almost 3 inches off it in the last month (YES!!!) but still have a ways more to go. (I think I started to late to make my goal date of my birthday) I am doing Jilliam Michael's 30 days shred and am enjoying the results I am starting to see. I had to laugh when I got to Level 3 though. She says you should be starting to see a 6 pack form by now. Um? No??? I'm stilling working on getting it flat! I've been debating about doing additional crunches (different ones) in addition to her workoutout.

    Yeah I will be in heaven when I get myself to that point! I just need to refocus and thats why I am asking..I know I have a ways to go but if I have a goal and a path I will get their :)
  • tressieazbill
    tressieazbill Posts: 59 Member
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    Okay well it sounds like lifting weights is a big thing :) I just wonder if I should focus on cardio for this last 10 lbs of weightloss then go focus on lifting weights..It makes sense in my head but I am not an expert!

    No. You lose 10 pounds without strength training, and you're likely to lose as much muscle as fat.

    I never thought of it that way..Makes sense!
  • missADS1981
    missADS1981 Posts: 364 Member
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    Those pictures of my tummy was 7 lbs ago and I still want to lose another 12 lbs and get down to 115. But I do realize that low body fat percentage is the key for abs..I am currently around 126ish..Its just taking forever to get rid of my last 10 lbs. I do cardio 3 times a week and p90x weights dvds 3 times a week but its a recent thing so I havent gotten too much of results yet.Any advice on how to get rid of the last 10 lbs faster?
    While pounds do matter to a point, what you're shooting for is more a composition issue IMO. For many of my fitness competitors, we worked more on compound movements (heavy) with an emphasis of short rest times in between. As well as a shift in higher protein consumption (25/45/30) to prep for shows.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    +1

    doing compound movements like front or back squats made a huge difference in my abs. sure i do train abs as well, but youd be surprised how much your core is needed to stabalize these bigger movements. i feel my obliques the day after leg day!
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    Eat at a moderate deficit and strength train.

    Should I worry more about strength training then cardio?

    In my opinion, yes. Strength training while maintaining a small caloric deficit will help you preserve your muscle mass. Muscle mass you need, if your goal is to have visible abs.

    Absolutely.

    My abs popped as soon as I started doing heavy deadlifts, at 20% bodyfat.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    If you don't have access to a gym, body weight strength training should get you to that point. Those abs aren't terribly extreme and definitely doable. :) I typically get that look around 18-19% body fat, if I'm working out.
  • tressieazbill
    tressieazbill Posts: 59 Member
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    If you don't have access to a gym, body weight strength training should get you to that point. Those abs aren't terribly extreme and definitely doable. :) I typically get that look around 18-19% body fat, if I'm working out.

    I have a membership to Golds gym and I also have p90x and p90x 2 at home and a garage gym with treadmill an arm machine and a cycle machine and a boxing thing. So I should have no excuses lol. I love to go to Zumba so I want to go to those Monday and Tuesday nights. And then I was thinking Wednesday through saturday do p90x? And eat about 1600 calories a day.. How does that sound.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    If you don't have access to a gym, body weight strength training should get you to that point. Those abs aren't terribly extreme and definitely doable. :) I typically get that look around 18-19% body fat, if I'm working out.

    I have a membership to Golds gym and I also have p90x and p90x 2 at home and a garage gym with treadmill an arm machine and a cycle machine and a boxing thing. So I should have no excuses lol. I love to go to Zumba so I want to go to those Monday and Tuesday nights. And then I was thinking Wednesday through saturday do p90x? And eat about 1600 calories a day.. How does that sound.

    People have already said do strength training. You have Gold's membership, so skip the p90x and start lifting heavy weight 3-4 times per week. Here's my abs at 20% body fat and only a month of heavy lifting under my belt:

    6hxI1X9.jpg?1

    What is your body fat percentage right now and where do you typically store fat? My abs show at a higher bf% than many people's because I don't store fat in my stomach.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make then drink.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    http://www.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/body-fat-percentage-picture-men-women.jpg
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    Where you at now? (bf%)
    if you could possibly show a picture of what your abs look like now it'd be easier to give estimates ^^ but generally, to get the abs, you'd need to be at a lower body fat percentage.. :)

    Around 22-23 percent..Would love to get around 20?

    I think women need about 15% BF for visible abs. What they will look like though is mainly down to genetics.

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