Abs

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leajas1
leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Tomorrow I'm upping my calories and I start my first official bulk! I'm adding in an additional day for abs, but I'm having trouble getting a day in between Ab Days due to time constraints. Is it detrimental to work abs two days in a row? TIA.
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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    edited September 2016
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    Well you don't get abs by bulking. You may develop the muscle, but when you bulk you add body fat. It's why you cut after a bulk. Abs are really a function of low body fat and adequate body composition. This is mainly achieve through a deficit, a good progressive resistance program (like one of these) and time.

    Also, you don't need to work abs daily or multiple days in a row. They are muscles, too, and will fatigue. I work my abs 3x a week (non consecutive days).
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    edited September 2016
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    psulemon wrote: »
    Well you don't get abs by bulking. You may develop the muscle, but when you bulk you add body fat. It's why you cut after a bulk. Abs are really a function of low body fat and adequate body composition. This is mainly achieve through a deficit, a good progressive resistance program (like one of these) and time.

    Also, you don't need to work abs daily or multiple days in a row. They are muscles, too, and will fatigue. I work my abs 3x a week (non consecutive days).

    Thanks! Yep, developing the muscle is exactly what I'm trying to do. I was down to 15% body fat this summer and had really decent looking abs, so I'm just trying to take it to the next level and see what my body can do with a bulk/cut. I appreciate the information.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I could be wrong, but @usmcmp does little to no direct ab work...

    You're going to work them a lot already if your programming emphasizes compound movements (which it should)...I personally wouldn't throw in a whole day dedicated to ab work...just maybe a little direct work at the end of your workouts a couple days per week...if your programming is solid, you'll be working them a lot with everything else you're doing.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I could be wrong, but @usmcmp does little to no direct ab work...

    You're going to work them a lot already if your programming emphasizes compound movements (which it should)...I personally wouldn't throw in a whole day dedicated to ab work...just maybe a little direct work at the end of your workouts a couple days per week...if your programming is solid, you'll be working them a lot with everything else you're doing.

    Thank you!. Sorry if my phrasing was misleading. I don't dedicate an entire day to abs - just like you said, I do a few ab exercises tacked on to the end of a workout. I do a 5-day split (Arms, Legs, Chest, Back/Legs, Shoulders) and I definitely use all the major compound movements. My problem is that I wanted to not only add in a third day of abs, but also three days for a little calf work (which I really haven't spent any time on). I've got 1 hour in the mornings to train so finding a third day for abs with my time constraint, with one day in between, is difficult, but I'll work it out, so to speak. I appreciate your input!
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    61vwtty38kir.png
    This is me prior to any bulking (and prior to getting down to 15% bf), done with only two days of ab work. I'm bulking mainly to grow the glutes and thighs but I thought getting a bit more defined in the abs could be fun.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    While I am a big fan of direct core work, I still don't even dedicate a whole day for them to do in one session. After warming up I generally pick a few pretty intense movements, hit them an move on. Occasionally I'll throw in a little extra core work on a rest day but it's not planned.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    While I am a big fan of direct core work, I still don't even dedicate a whole day for them to do in one session. After warming up I generally pick a few pretty intense movements, hit them an move on. Occasionally I'll throw in a little extra core work on a rest day but it's not planned.

    Thanks! When I say "ab day" I just mean a day that I do some ab work, not an entire session dedicated to abs - it's generally about 15 minutes (including rest in between sets).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Nice results so far. Are you using a self designed program?
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    edited September 2016
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    psulemon wrote: »
    Nice results so far. Are you using a self designed program?

    Thanks, @psulemon. Nope, I'm following a program laid out in a book called Thinner, Leaner, Stronger, and then the One Year Challenge for Women, all by the same author. I'll occasionally throw in a extra move here or there that I hear about and want to experiment with.

    Edit to add: After over a year I've basically done all I can in terms of recomp (I was a complete newbie to heavy weights when I started) so bulking is an exciting new step for me.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    Nice results so far. Are you using a self designed program?

    Thanks, @psulemon. Nope, I'm following a program laid out in a book called Thinner, Leaner, Stronger, and then the One Year Challenge for Women, all by the same author. I'll occasionally throw in a extra move here or there that I hear about and want to experiment with.

    Edit to add: After over a year I've basically done all I can in terms of recomp (I was a complete newbie to heavy weights when I started) so bulking is an exciting new step for me.

    I hear great things about Mike Matthew's programs. Based on our focus areas, have you considered StrongCurves? It is a great introduction into lower body focused heavy lifting. Alternatively, if you like the 5 day programming, PHAT might also be a solid option.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    He's awesome and you can't beat his customer service. I've seen you and several others mention Strong Curves, but I haven't looked into it. I thought I'd just throw in a second day of squats and hip thrusts onto my back day (which includes dead lifts). I'll check those two out, though, thanks so much. You and Mike Matthews give a lot of the same advice ;)
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
    edited September 2016
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I could be wrong, but @usmcmp does little to no direct ab work...

    You're going to work them a lot already if your programming emphasizes compound movements (which it should)...I personally wouldn't throw in a whole day dedicated to ab work...just maybe a little direct work at the end of your workouts a couple days per week...if your programming is solid, you'll be working them a lot with everything else you're doing.

    Correct. I do no direct ab work. I recently (within the last 3 months) have added in some oblique work because mine lag and are overpowered by my rectus abdominis during compound lifts. Have to actually target them now, but that's only at the end of one session every week.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I do not do ab work at all. I certainly would never add in an ab day or two.

    By the way, you are doing fantastic! Look amazing! Enjoy the bulk!! :):)
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Wow @leajas1 you look amazing! Happy bulking :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    He's awesome and you can't beat his customer service. I've seen you and several others mention Strong Curves, but I haven't looked into it. I thought I'd just throw in a second day of squats and hip thrusts onto my back day (which includes dead lifts). I'll check those two out, though, thanks so much. You and Mike Matthews give a lot of the same advice ;)

    Thanks. I may have to check into his stuff. He seems weel respected.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I do not do ab work at all. I certainly would never add in an ab day or two.

    By the way, you are doing fantastic! Look amazing! Enjoy the bulk!! :):)


    sardelsa wrote: »
    Wow @leajas1 you look amazing! Happy bulking :)

    Thank you both so much! And thanks to everyone for the ab advice.
  • grapaj
    grapaj Posts: 136 Member
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    @leajas1 you have my goal arms! <3

    I just got my TLS book and am reading through it and continuing PHUL until I get to the workout section.

    What ab exercises are you adding in?

    Also I'm a heavy hip thruster fan so definitely will have to get that into my program....
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    @grapaj Thank you! You can do it! I love hip thrusts - I definitely feel those right after moreso than any other exercise.

    Now that I'm bulking I do do abs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Monday I can't get to the gym (it's my husband's day) so I do 3 sets of hanging leg raises to failure, 3 sets of ab roll-outs to failure and then P90X Ab Ripper. On Wednesdays and Fridays I do Cable Crunches, the only weighted ab exercise I do ( 3 sets and I increase weight when I can get to 13 - 15 reps), 3 sets of lying leg raises to failure, and 3 sets of air bike to failure. On one of those days I may add in 3 sets of ab roll-outs if I'm feeling it.

    I hope you enjoy the book - I think it's been updated a bit since I bought it.
  • grapaj
    grapaj Posts: 136 Member
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    @grapaj Thank you! You can do it! I love hip thrusts - I definitely feel those right after moreso than any other exercise.

    Now that I'm bulking I do do abs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Monday I can't get to the gym (it's my husband's day) so I do 3 sets of hanging leg raises to failure, 3 sets of ab roll-outs to failure and then P90X Ab Ripper. On Wednesdays and Fridays I do Cable Crunches, the only weighted ab exercise I do ( 3 sets and I increase weight when I can get to 13 - 15 reps), 3 sets of lying leg raises to failure, and 3 sets of air bike to failure. On one of those days I may add in 3 sets of ab roll-outs if I'm feeling it.

    I hope you enjoy the book - I think it's been updated a bit since I bought it.

    Were you following the diet program in there too?

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