Crazy abs?!

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Replies

  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    No crazy abs here but I've heard it's one group of muscle that you can work every day and unless your FB is very low you hard work won't show through.

    I want some abs!!!

    not true.

    Then expand please. :wink:

    Abs are like any other muscle group and if worked properly they shouldn't/ don't need to be trained daily.
  • BetterCrazyThanLazy
    BetterCrazyThanLazy Posts: 336
    No crazy abs here but I've heard it's one group of muscle that you can work every day and unless your FB is very low you hard work won't show through.

    I want some abs!!!

    not true.

    Then expand please. :wink:

    Abs are like any other muscle group and if worked properly they shouldn't/ don't need to be trained daily.

    And I believed in a common myth for such a long time. :)
  • johnpangan
    johnpangan Posts: 47 Member
    I can go weeks on end or even a month not working on my abs. A big factor is diet. If your consistently under your caloric maintenance, you will lose fat. Lower bf% means having a tighter abs or a 6 pack.

    It don't matter how much ab workout or cardio you do but if your above caloric maintenance, that' crazy abs won't come out. It will stay hidden underneath that fat!
  • JenKillough
    JenKillough Posts: 474 Member
    My abs are hard as a rock, covered in a small layer of fat... it's simply a matter of diet and uncovering them. I think for people who do big compound lifting, you don't really need to worry about working the abs separately. I used to do 3 min + planks.. but it's just silly after that point, I think.
  • elprincipito
    elprincipito Posts: 1,200 Member
    mostly didn't work them out when i had them. Deadlifts and squats work them out. However leg raises 2 or 3 times a week are good for the lower abs and the V.
  • abfab_sweetie
    abfab_sweetie Posts: 64
    PLANK :)
  • wsuduce
    wsuduce Posts: 68 Member
    Maybe once a week, more like 2x a month. Just keep lifting, drop the body fat and it will all be there. Good luck!
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    I rarely if ever directly work my abs. =/
  • Tyrone_S
    Tyrone_S Posts: 94 Member
    Work them like you would work anything else. Heavy, and not every day. If you wanted big guns doing one set of 50 biceps curls every day is generally regarded as the wrong way to go about it. If you can do 20 crunches, time to find something harder. If you can do 20 leg raises, find something harder.

    Abs are tricky because unlike most exercises for most other muscle groups where you add weight to the same exercise to increase difficulty, most ab exercises are body weight so once you grow out of it you need to switch exercises to one which puts more load on the target muscles.

    This is one of my favourites: Bruce Lee - Dragon Flag
    Bruce-Lee-Dragon-Flag.jpg


    If you can do 3 sets of 10 of this you can still make it harder. Pause at the bottom and pedal your legs before lifting up again, superset it with crunches or leg raises...

    Obviously you need a good diet to uncover the muscle, but it's not all about diet. That's like saying having nice arms is all about diet, you need to build the muscle as well.
  • MrDelts
    MrDelts Posts: 209 Member
    I hardly ever do a specific ab routine.. Most of my lifting works the core. I do high intensity and incorporate exercises like squats, deadlifts, push presses, planks, pushups etc. The core takes a beating without ever having to lay on the ground a do a crunch.
  • diodelcibo
    diodelcibo Posts: 2,564 Member
    Here it is : weighted crunches 4 sets, weighted captain chairs 6 sets, weighted leg raises ( use chains ) 4 sets, weighted decline crunches 6 sets . Complete once a week.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    It depends on almost 90% what you eat and at what time.

    No, it doesn't.



    Visible abs are about having a low enough body fat. They typically begin to show at around 12%, and are fully visible by 10%

    I'm going to go a bit against the majority here, I don't think core stability exercises like planks are particularly useful if you're doing exercises like squats and deadlifts. They can be used to strengthen your core if it's weak, but after a certain point, you're getting more than enough stability work be doing the big lifts.

    Also, in my opinion direct ab work can be useful, although you do reach the point of diminishing returns rather quickly. However, this is only if (a big if) the exercise(s) that you do directly work the ab muscles. Most people think their working their abs directly when what they're really doing is direct hip flexor work mixed with core stability.
    Pretty much this.

    No direct ab work done.
  • dukes418
    dukes418 Posts: 207 Member
    lower body fat % + core engagement during ALL your exercises = development and definition in your midsection.

    One thing I hate seeing is folks compromising their form just to show off how much they either can press, pull, push, etc. Concentrate on your form which includes engaging your core during an exercise and you will begin to notice development. If your form is off, an injury or strain will certainly follow...
  • flabbyjay
    flabbyjay Posts: 95 Member
    Thanks everyone.. The overwhelming theme is BF% which makes sense. When I cut I imagine they will come out.
  • MikeyD1280
    MikeyD1280 Posts: 5,257
    Im lucky to have abs... I hardly ever work on them. had them since I was about 11 years old...

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