Toned Abs

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katyviking13
katyviking13 Posts: 12
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys!

I'm approximately 145 pounds (mostly muscle since I'm on the rowing team at my school) and am 5'7". I work out 6-7 days a week for about 2 hours and eat pretty healthy. I run stairs, erg, weight lift, do abs circuits, etc. but the fat just isn't coming off.

Do you have any specific workouts or suggestions on how to get toned abs?
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  • shellywoodworth
    shellywoodworth Posts: 75 Member
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    bump
  • nlfrancis
    nlfrancis Posts: 35
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    if you go to shape.com they have a lot of great workouts that target your core. Also, runnersworld.com has some good ones.
  • CuteMommy88
    CuteMommy88 Posts: 538 Member
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    I just started Jillian Michaels 6 week six pack dvd!! I have only been doing it for a week and I am already starting to see a difference!
  • amydcarlson
    amydcarlson Posts: 136 Member
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    I hate to say it, but it's all in the diet. I have super-toned abs, myself...it's just that they are hiding under a layer of flab. Losing the fat over the abs is key. I have also heard that this is the hardest part to lose from because it protects our vital organs and it's usually the first place people gain. It's true what everyone has been saying, though. Abs are made in the kitchen.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    ABs are made in the kitchen and how lean you can get in the ABs often has a genetic component. If your weight is steady and percent body fat isn't going down, then look to your diet. You could either be too low in calories or too high. You don't need to work the abs to death. They get plenty of work during normal exercise so a few exercises to target abs per week is plenty.
  • Kirstie_C26
    Kirstie_C26 Posts: 490 Member
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    bump!!:wink:
  • DianaPowerUp
    DianaPowerUp Posts: 518 Member
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    As the trainers in our gym always say, "Abs are created in the kitchen.", meaning that even if you do 1000 sit ups/day, you won't see any definition if there is fat lying over them. You can't "spot reduce". But you can clean up your diet.

    Without seeing your food diary, it's hard to know what you're eating, but if you want to see your abs, you're going to have to have a very clean diet (meaning little to no processed foods, stay away from the white stuff, lots of fruits and veggies, etc). You can take a look at my diary. I'm not the best, cleanest eater by far, but I manage to eat pretty well, and keep within my calorie allowance. I work out 2 hrs/day usu. 5 days/wk. My abs are just starting to show. But I know that I will have to lose probably another 10 lbs if I really want them to be obvious.

    As far as exercises, I do 3 weight training classes/wk, a Pilates class, and a yoga class. ALL of them incorporate ab work, but they all do it differently. I think the different training is really helping.

    I'm 5' 6", started at 141, and now weigh 134. Hope that helps!
  • katyviking13
    katyviking13 Posts: 12
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    What does bump mean?
  • amydcarlson
    amydcarlson Posts: 136 Member
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    "Bump" is just something people put on a thread that they find interesting so that they can find it under "My Topics" later. :wink:
  • LynnBirchfield
    LynnBirchfield Posts: 581 Member
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    I had to ask that question myself about bump. When you bump a post it keeps it towards the top of all the posts on the Community page. It also keeps it on your profile page, so you can go back to it later.
  • katyviking13
    katyviking13 Posts: 12
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    I had to ask that question myself about bump. When you bump a post it keeps it towards the top of all the posts on the Community page. It also keeps it on your profile page, so you can go back to it later.

    Ok, thank you!
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    I hate to say it, but it's all in the diet. I have super-toned abs, myself...it's just that they are hiding under a layer of flab. Losing the fat over the abs is key. I have also heard that this is the hardest part to lose from because it protects our vital organs and it's usually the first place people gain. It's true what everyone has been saying, though. Abs are made in the kitchen.


    This is the absolute truth. There is some genetics involved too.

    It usually takes me about two weeks to uncover my abbs, and I can keep them for three or four months. After that I get so burnt out on tracking every thing that I kinda quit caring. Of course once weather starts warming back up...
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
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    I just started Jillian Michaels 6 week six pack dvd!! I have only been doing it for a week and I am already starting to see a difference!

    Can you take pix, like starting now, then at the end of the 6 weeks? My stomach is awful!
  • cindy4mica
    cindy4mica Posts: 777 Member
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    i'm looking for the same thing! i've had 5 kids and am down to my goal weight, but there's that extra skin that i just can't get rid of! if i suck in or lie down to do sit-ups, i can feel the muscle underneath it, but the "flab" just won't go away. i'm 2 seconds away from a tummy tuck. 2 seconds and a ton of money i don't have. lol
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I've noticed a huge difference in just three weeks of doing the exercises in EA Sports Active 2 on the PS3. It's just basic crunches, reverse crunches, planks and leg lifts.

    I have to wonder, looking at pictures of some of you who claim to have fat, and how AMAZING you look, if it's not a case of unrealistic expectations. I mean... take Jillian Michaels. She looks incredible, no doubt about it, but she looks much softer in her videos than she does in the covers for the DVDs. You can't look at yourself in normal overhead lighting and expect to look like someone with professional lighting, makeup, photography and touch-ups. :smile:
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    I just realised I didn't answer your question.

    Anyway... first, no alcohol, no candy, no snacks, no soft drinks.

    I will reduce my weightlifting to a 5x5 60% routine. Bicycle as often as I have the energy. To avoid any overages on calories I will have 600 to 700 calorie protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, and a filling dinner after biking. The only thing I drink is water and milk. No Crystal Lite, Lemon juice or anything. If the weather cooperate, I will swim or kayak in the late evening.

    My dinners are usually something fatty like a burger no sides, or anything grilled.
  • DianaPowerUp
    DianaPowerUp Posts: 518 Member
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    i'm looking for the same thing! i've had 5 kids and am down to my goal weight, but there's that extra skin that i just can't get rid of! if i suck in or lie down to do sit-ups, i can feel the muscle underneath it, but the "flab" just won't go away. i'm 2 seconds away from a tummy tuck. 2 seconds and a ton of money i don't have. lol

    Sadly, sometimes a tummy tuck is the only thing that will take care of that. If you've had kids, or lost a lot of weight, you can wind up with loose skin that hangs/sags, and no amount of dieting or exercise will get rid of that. I went to a plastic surgeon, thinking I could get that little hanging extra lipo-ed off, and he pulled at my skin and said, "You're not fat. There's no fat here to remove. You have excess skin, and need a tummy tuck." So, yes, I've had one. And after what my pregnancies (incl. twins) did to my belly, it was the best answer to that problem.
  • karl1744
    karl1744 Posts: 10
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    Hay,
    we all have ab's, finding them is another matter. each individual has their own journey in the way they find them. The number one proven fact though is DIET. you can train every hr of every day, but if your diet is even just abit out then sorry you wont find your ab's.

    When I get ready for a photo shoot or a show I always always do interval training with a decreased calorie intake (energy in to energy out) so I eat less calories than what I actually need. But there is a process to this and it is done in stages not in one big hit, otherwise you will be very drained and wont have the energy to train at all.

    I knew a guy once who used to do 1000 crunches a day and his stomach was solid, but he had no ab's.
    AB's come down to body fat % at the end of the day, alot of my clients come to me and say I am only a size 8 or 6 (UK) why dont i have ab's I am not fat, and after I do a proper BF% test (calipers) I show that their actually a slim fat person. ie slim but no muscle mass/density. all these factors you need to address before you will ever start getting great ab's, and when i say ab's i dont mean a line here and there i mean defined, a man has his top ab's showing at about 12% but will they go half way through the day after he has eaten and drank yes, why because of water and fluid retention, now were getting to into it lol so i will stop it there....

    Eat Clean train intense lots of jumping lots of sprinting not much rest and you will get your ab's I promise.

    Karl
  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
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    Diet Diet Diet
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
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    Hay,
    we all have ab's, finding them is another matter. each individual has their own journey in the way they find them. The number one proven fact though is DIET. you can train every hr of every day, but if your diet is even just abit out then sorry you wont find your ab's.

    When I get ready for a photo shoot or a show I always always do interval training with a decreased calorie intake (energy in to energy out) so I eat less calories than what I actually need. But there is a process to this and it is done in stages not in one big hit, otherwise you will be very drained and wont have the energy to train at all.

    I knew a guy once who used to do 1000 crunches a day and his stomach was solid, but he had no ab's.
    AB's come down to body fat % at the end of the day, alot of my clients come to me and say I am only a size 8 or 6 (UK) why dont i have ab's I am not fat, and after I do a proper BF% test (calipers) I show that their actually a slim fat person. ie slim but no muscle mass/density. all these factors you need to address before you will ever start getting great ab's, and when i say ab's i dont mean a line here and there i mean defined, a man has his top ab's showing at about 12% but will they go half way through the day after he has eaten and drank yes, why because of water and fluid retention, now were getting to into it lol so i will stop it there....

    Eat Clean train intense lots of jumping lots of sprinting not much rest and you will get your ab's I promise.

    Karl

    Karl there are photos of me when I was a little girl & I was super skinny with a huge pooched out stomach! I've never had abs.....what can you tell someone like me, who has never had a flat stomach, even when super thin? Not even when I was 110 or 115!

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