I don't want a waist line that looks like this!

Why do all seemingly benign thread topics turn so cruel?

I don't see anything cruel in this thread.

Other than the fact that it's not a benign topic (as others have pointed out).

Now that you all have had a turn taking stabs at me personally....
I do a 30 minute ab routine 3 days a week. Some of the moves use light weights, others do not. I was thinking of doing abs 5 days a week but I wonder if that is too much, or is it still too little? I never can decide if there should be more frequency than 3 days for abs. I have went to doing total body three days and cardio 5 days. I usually split my cardio from the resistance because I just don't have that uninterrupted chunk of time. Should I increase my resistance to 5 days?

You think a 30 minute ab routine 3 times a week gives you the body of an Olympic athlete?

I chose clothing that emphasizes the waist that I do have and the features I was blessed with. I have never had a guy turn me down when I was naked.

Ditto. You can fake a waistline, to some extent. You cannot fake a 6-pack (well, not very easily). And, yeah, I wouldn't say guys *hate* it.

Now that you all have had a turn taking stabs at me personally....
I do a 30 minute ab routine 3 days a week. Some of the moves use light weights, others do not. I was thinking of doing abs 5 days a week but I wonder if that is too much, or is it still too little? I never can decide if there should be more frequency than 3 days for abs. I have went to doing total body three days and cardio 5 days. I usually split my cardio from the resistance because I just don't have that uninterrupted chunk of time. Should I increase my resistance to 5 days?

You insulted the athlete.

Now, you are taking honest info as an insult.

Why do all seemingly benign thread topics turn so cruel?

What's benign about an overweight woman with virtually 0 progress posting a picture of one of the fittest women in the world, who happens to be a 46 year old Olympic athlete, and saying "how can I avoid ending up like this"??

+1

Now that you all have had a turn taking stabs at me personally....
I do a 30 minute ab routine 3 days a week. Some of the moves use light weights, others do not. I was thinking of doing abs 5 days a week but I wonder if that is too much, or is it still too little? I never can decide if there should be more frequency than 3 days for abs. I have went to doing total body three days and cardio 5 days. I usually split my cardio from the resistance because I just don't have that uninterrupted chunk of time. Should I increase my resistance to 5 days?

The ab work that you do will not 1. build muscle or 2. turn you into Dana Torres.

You could do an ab routine every day of the week, but it won't give you abs. Weight loss and a low body fat percentage will give you abs. Ab workouts will give you a stronger core, but as long as there is still excess weight there, it won't be visible.

You can train your abs as many days a week as you like. If you feel too sore, you're over training.

Body shape is genetic plain and simple. It looks like she is whats called a banana or ruler shape. If you are not then don't worry about looking like that. I definitely wouldn't avoid weight training because you saw some women who didn't have the same look you want that is silly.

^^^^ this (although someone's body type (ruler, hourglass, whatever), can change as they lose fat, because the way they store fat might make them one shape at a high body fat percentage, but their actual skeleton and musculature under the fat may be a different shape)

once you strip the fat off, you're left with the natural structure of your skeleton and muscles, if you're female you can make your muscles somewhat bigger by eating at a calorie surplus and doing serious amounts of weight training, but you can't change how your muscles attach to the bones, and you can't change the size and shape of your bones.

As someone said, the swimmer in the pic has very slender hips. women who have wide hips still look curvy when they have visible abs. You can't do anything about the size and shape of your pelvis. However, you can make your glute muscles bigger through doing some heavy weight lifting and this will give even women with narrow hips a more curvy shape.

Um, you can't buy that! I want it, pencil or not!

Can I look like this, please?

You're not going to just wake up one morning looking "bulky" after a weight training session. If you start to think you're gaining too much muscle for your preference, cut down on the weight training.

I'm so sad to report that this is true. I've just completed my 2nd week of lifting and I haven't awakened to any bulky muscles yet. The only thing that keeps me going is the 3/4ths inch that I've lost off my waist in just the three weeks since I signed up here.