I want abs! Exercises?

Pretty_Jewelz
Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am on my quest to better abs. What's the best exercises?
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Replies

  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    What program are you doing now ?

    For me it was key to lower my bf % enough and be consistent with a progressive strength training program .
  • RWClary
    RWClary Posts: 192 Member
    edited April 2016
    Pretty_Jewelz wrote: »
    I am on my quest to better abs. What's the best exercises?
    Planks, sit ups, leg raises - whatever...
    The key is doing something regularly.
    And that's 25% of the fight.

    Nice abs are a function of training, but 75% of your results will be derived from diet.
    Yea, I know...I hate that too... :s

  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    I am already eating what I need and I do a few programs. I honestly think I need more weight and strength
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
    Are your abs covered with fat? I
  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    Nope lol. I'm 102lbs , 5"1 and about 19% bf
  • ConnorMacFarlane21
    ConnorMacFarlane21 Posts: 13 Member
    Respectfully, 19% is much too high for good abs. Get that BF down to 10% --even lower is preferable but sub-10% BF is tough to maintain for long periods of time-- and you'll have abs with minimal training.
  • ConnorMacFarlane21
    ConnorMacFarlane21 Posts: 13 Member
    12-15% is where you'll have the subtle ab contours. Below that is where you really start to see definition.
  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    That doesn't even seem obtainable honestly. I'm already pretty dang slim lol
  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    Ok I can see maybe 15 but I doubt I could do 10
  • Nicci93
    Nicci93 Posts: 398 Member
    Women shouldn't drop below 10-13% body fat... and you should have low enough body fat to see abs way before that mark as a woman.

    I'd recommend getting down to 15% and reevaluating. Like another poster recommend - progressive lifting program!
  • ConnorMacFarlane21
    ConnorMacFarlane21 Posts: 13 Member
    10% (and anything below) requires pretty strict calorie tracking. 12-15% is pretty do-able with minimal calorie craze!
  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    I just don't know what I need to do to get there I guess
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    ConnorMacFarlane21 wrote: »
    Respectfully, 19% is much too high for good abs. Get that BF down to 10% --even lower is preferable but sub-10% BF is tough to maintain for long periods of time-- and you'll have abs with minimal training.

    You do realize the OP is a female right? 10% is dangerously low for a female.
  • Ruffianxx
    Ruffianxx Posts: 10 Member
    edited April 2016
    Quality over quantity. I do no more then 10-20 minutes or core roughly 5 days a week but I make sure those 10-20 minutes are tough. 3 minute plank, 2 minute leg raises, 1 min crunches, 2 min side plank, 1 min windshield wiper, 3 min plank ect ect. Repeat. Most importantly NO STOPPING until you are finished with the workout. I got this workout from my boyfriend, who uses it for rock climbing and has a six-pack to boot.

    Honestly abs are tricky, especially for women. Your diet needs to be very clean and your exercise needs to be consistent and intense. Personally, I got runner abs through high intensity cardio (running 50+ miles a week with speed work) and lots of core work, but I know there are other (and possibly easier) ways to get abs. Many people recommend hitting the weights, and that may be a much better way to go if you're not crazy for running like I am.
  • ConnorMacFarlane21
    ConnorMacFarlane21 Posts: 13 Member
    As Nicci and other users have suggested, progressive lifting will help.

    Perhaps you can try to approximate your resting metabolic rate (RMR) to see how many calories your body consumes just to exist on any given day. Add to your RMR the amount of calories you burn throughout the day (for example, jogging, exercising, etc).

    For example, various RMR calculators online put me at about 1750-1900 calories per day. On the days I cycle and/or workout, I might burn an additional 500 calories, putting my daily calorie total between 2200-2300 calories.

    On the days I workout, any calorie count below 2200 calories means I am most likely losing weight.
    On off days, any calorie count below 1800 most likely means I am losing weight.

    Tl;dr-- try to figure out how many calories you burn during the day and eat a calorie count slightly below that. A small caloric deficit will have you losing small amounts of weight consistently.

    Best of luck! Take care!
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Pretty_Jewelz wrote: »
    That doesn't even seem obtainable honestly. I'm already pretty dang slim lol
    Pretty_Jewelz wrote: »
    Ok I can see maybe 15 but I doubt I could do 10

    This guy is talking about body fat percentages for men. 19% for women is pretty much 12-14% for men. You'll have to increase muscle mass of your abs aren't showing. Working them will do little more than strengthen them if you're not in a slight surplus.

  • Pretty_Jewelz
    Pretty_Jewelz Posts: 29 Member
    I have some abs just not much. Thank you for the input
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    ConnorMacFarlane21 wrote: »
    12-15% is where you'll have the subtle ab contours. Below that is where you really start to see definition.

    That is for males. OP is female. 10% for a female is bodybuilding competition range.
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
    @ConnorMacFarlane21 you seem to be basing your comments on men's body fat percentages, women have a lot higher body fat percentages.

    @Pretty_Jewelz to get your abs to pop you need to drop even more fat. You're not fat(!!!!) but like most people you have a thin layer of fat between your abs and your skin which prevents the abs from popping. In men this is often the last fat to disappear, and disappears when you hit very low body fat levels. If you google "women body fat percentage" images you can get some guidelines of when you'll see abs.

    So, calorie deficit, and lifting heavy with a high protein diet to make sure you don't just lose a bunch of muscle as you cut your calories. If you do large compound lifts like squats and deadlifts you won't necessarily need to do ab specific exercises, but if you enjoy them you can do russian twists, planks, ab wheel rollouts, v situps, etc.

    It's worth pointing out that if you get your body fat percentage of 19% from a scale, theres a good chance that its wrong because scales are very innacurate. It might be lower (unlikely significantly lower or you would be seeing abs), it might be higher, or it might actually be 19%. People could make edjucated guesses with pictures, but you can do the same with a mirror and comparisons to google image searches.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    ConnorMacFarlane21 wrote: »
    10% (and anything below) requires pretty strict calorie tracking. 12-15% is pretty do-able with minimal calorie craze!

    No. OP is female.

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