Need advice on how to challenge core/abs

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ghartleroad1
ghartleroad1 Posts: 51 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Even when I wasn't working out or watching my diet (& was nearly 40 lbs heavier) I would consistently do ab work. Now that I'm down to a healthy weight (140lb & 5'7") and nearly to my goal weight, I feel like I can finally start thinking about toning my middle. (Everyone in my family is apple-shaped. Even as a teenager in dance, I always had a small roll around my middle.) I want that gone! My weekly workouts include Jillian Shred, Piloxing, Pilates, & Bootcamp.

I can get through Hardcore & Pilates classes with no problem. The only challenge I get from Jillian's 6 week 6 pack is cardio/breathing; I have to pause to catch my breath. I even go through all the ab exercises in my Women's Fitness "Bible" of exercises. I can get through double leg/double arm lifts, planks, and side plans fairly easily. I do Russian Twists with weight. None of these ever leave me sore.

Do I just stick with my usual workout to burn off more weight? What can I do to shape my middle?

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Heavy squats and deadlifts work pretty well.

    Working your abs will not flatten the stomach, it will just make the muscles under the layer of fat stronger, you cannot sport reduce fat by tarting and area. Genetic will determine where you burn fat from.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    Heavy squats and deadlifts work pretty well.
    yup.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Heavy squats and deadlifts work pretty well.

    ^This.

    And if you can occasionally use an ab roller or do hanging pikes, your core will be strong. If you just want to see a flat stomach, then keep eating at a deficit and strength train to retain lean mass.
  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
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    Ab's suck, the only way to build them is through a caloric surplus and training, the only way to see them is to achieve a low enough BF%. The down side to all of this is if someone has not done a lot of core exercises in a window when they could have been building muscle, even at a low BF% they may not be as prominent. My advice, keep cutting until you are lean enough to comfortably eat at a surplus and implement some weighted core exercises into your routine (dead lift, squat, standing or kneeling cable crunches, back extensions, weighted leg raises, reighted decline crunches, etc.)
  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
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    Heavy squats and deadlifts work pretty well.

    Working your abs will not flatten the stomach, it will just make the muscles under the layer of fat stronger, you cannot sport reduce fat by tarting and area. Genetic will determine where you burn fat from.

    I thoroughly enjoy when people join in with sound, rational advice. (FYI: Not being sarcastic)

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