people with six packs

beduffbrickie
beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hiya guys,

out of interest how many times a week do you train your abs/core? thinking of changing my programme as I only train mine once a week. seems to be the only muscles lagging for me at the moment.

Replies

  • famousa88
    famousa88 Posts: 22 Member
    I would say do it 2-3 times a week. Muscle is built during rest so not doing it everyday is best.
  • InIt2WinIt
    InIt2WinIt Posts: 68
    My trainer has me do abs twice a week and I do them on the wknd at home! My stomach is where I hold the majority of my weight & it's got to go!
  • cweiler4
    cweiler4 Posts: 374 Member
    4-5 times a week for me. I do a lot of cardio moves that engage the core, like kickboxing. I don't do many sit ups. :noway:
  • lickmybaconcakes
    lickmybaconcakes Posts: 1,063 Member
    Once a week only (lowish reps 6-8) heavy weight.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    Had decent abs last summer. trained them once a week pretty much.

    did very little direct work.



    now I'll hit them lightly twice a week (squat day and deadlift day). working them more won't make them show up
  • cyncetastic
    cyncetastic Posts: 165
    1-2 days a week of isolated ab exercises - but a lot of my compound lifts/movements hit them as well.
  • sunray11julie
    sunray11julie Posts: 27 Member
    saw the topic, and you all might be the right group to ask. About how long did it take you to get visible abs, after you lost the weight you needed to? I know it depends A LOT on diet, exercise, routine, body fat %, metabolism, age, etc. I am 5'9" 129 lbs, female. i am really starting to get the muscle definition in arms legs, and butt. Just taking a survey i guess, so i have some sort of idea on how much longer it will be till start seeing those beautiful abdominal muscles!
  • Sl1ghtly
    Sl1ghtly Posts: 855 Member
    Never.
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    Once a week only (lowish reps 6-8) heavy weight.


    thats what im doing at the moment, combined with my deadlifts and squats etc,

    thanks for the replies, going to throw an extra ab workout in I think. tbh I hate working my abs, but I suppose extra abs work out on top of what I already do wont harm me.
  • tamerkins2
    tamerkins2 Posts: 212
    Once a week only (lowish reps 6-8) heavy weight.

    You have abs like that from only working them once per week?! Dang...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I only do mine once or twice/week. But you don't need to do any, many MFPers with 6 packs do very little ab work. You can focus on compound movements such as dead lifts and squats and your core gets work holding everything in place, and you get a great lower body workout at the same time.

    The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.
  • hirensthenameliftinsthegame
    hirensthenameliftinsthegame Posts: 233
    2 sets of 12 hanging leg raises with body weight for the front and sides once every 5 days...thats all
  • lickmybaconcakes
    lickmybaconcakes Posts: 1,063 Member
    Once a week only (lowish reps 6-8) heavy weight.

    You have abs like that from only working them once per week?! Dang...

    yes as long as you stress them enough you only need once a week as a lot of other weight lifting exercises incorporate the abdominals.
  • MinnesotaManimal
    MinnesotaManimal Posts: 642 Member
    I only do mine once or twice/week. But you don't need to do any, many MFPers with 6 packs do very little ab work. You can focus on compound movements such as dead lifts and squats and your core gets work holding everything in place, and you get a great lower body workout at the same time.

    The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.

    Isn't it also true though that if you work them and add a bit more muscle, you don't have to go as low in body fat to have them visible? Im not claiming that you could see them at 15%, but Im more hoping that it could make the difference between seeing them at 11% vs 6%
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I only do mine once or twice/week. But you don't need to do any, many MFPers with 6 packs do very little ab work. You can focus on compound movements such as dead lifts and squats and your core gets work holding everything in place, and you get a great lower body workout at the same time.

    The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.

    Isn't it also true though that if you work them and add a bit more muscle, you don't have to go as low in body fat to have them visible? Im not claiming that you could see them at 15%, but Im more hoping that it could make the difference between seeing them at 11% vs 6%

    yes, but until your BF% is low enough it may make you look larger in the waist. but abs can get bigger therefore show with a little higher BF%.
  • Cr357
    Cr357 Posts: 238
    Never isolated..... during squats, deads, etc..
  • Quickster34
    Quickster34 Posts: 209 Member
    4 times a week ish , sprinting and compound lifts do most of the core work though
  • lickmybaconcakes
    lickmybaconcakes Posts: 1,063 Member
    I only do mine once or twice/week. But you don't need to do any, many MFPers with 6 packs do very little ab work. You can focus on compound movements such as dead lifts and squats and your core gets work holding everything in place, and you get a great lower body workout at the same time.

    The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.

    Isn't it also true though that if you work them and add a bit more muscle, you don't have to go as low in body fat to have them visible? Im not claiming that you could see them at 15%, but Im more hoping that it could make the difference between seeing them at 11% vs 6%

    Well if you get them big through heavy lifting you wont need a too low bf % (I'm 14.8%bf as of a week ago and my abs are visible.)
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    I only do mine once or twice/week. But you don't need to do any, many MFPers with 6 packs do very little ab work. You can focus on compound movements such as dead lifts and squats and your core gets work holding everything in place, and you get a great lower body workout at the same time.

    The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.

    Isn't it also true though that if you work them and add a bit more muscle, you don't have to go as low in body fat to have them visible? Im not claiming that you could see them at 15%, but Im more hoping that it could make the difference between seeing them at 11% vs 6%

    That what I ment, I want to add a bit of mass to them, I am thankful for people commenting on this thread, but erickirb I already do compound lift, my workout is based around squats, deadlifts, and exercises that engage the core, What I wanted to know is how many times a week do people isolate their abs to work them?

    ''The 6 pack has nothing to do with the amount of ab work you do, it comes down to BF%. we all have 6 packs, for most it is just covered in fat.'' from my picture, I would thought you would have guessed I already know that. never mind, thanks for your input anyway.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Specific focus on abs/core/lower back - 1 - 2x per week.

    That being said, I do lots of yoga and my martial arts works the core areas a lot. So, I would say that my abs are always getting a bit of a workout.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    3 timers per week. Crunch 6x35 reps, no more
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
    1 - 2 times a week and now I start to use heavy weights now while working on my abs

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