Abdominal work off season or not?

[ascendant]

Just curious as to how many of you out there work your abs year-round and how many just do prior to summer/competitions/etc? i personally only train my abs while looking to cut up cause my waist is thick on the sides and i find minimizing training on my abs keeps them as narrow as possible. i also find my abs do get a decent amount of indirect work even when i don't directly train them, and i'm almost tempted to get rid of my ab training altogether to save the energy to focus on other bodyparts. what do you guys think? thanks.

[chest6]

I still work them while bulking. I haven't competed yet but I guess you can equate offseason=bulking

[Testsubject]

I train them on a regular basis(twice maybe once per week) a bit before and during summer, once summer ends I stop and train them maybe once every few weeks.

[S.P.G]

Remember that you use your trunk indirectly with most core exercises that you do.

This can be said for pushdowns and other movements to, so your never really not working your abs..

[IBdmfkr]

I never train abs and have developed obliques/abs. As SPG said, I don't think it's necessary

[Doc.Sust]

do them at least one day a wk, it takes very little effort or time IMO

[novastepp]

i agree w/ Doc. i hit mine once a week. if you hit them hard enough you will really enjoy the results!

[kaptainkeezy04]

i dont know why you would completely ignore a muscle just because you are bulking.

[needmorestrength]

simply put, they support the back.. they're part of your core.. the stronger they are the less injury can happen!

[ascendant]

in response to "kaptainkeezy04", the muscle is not being ignored. like stated above by numerous others, it gets a lot of indirect work from other exercises for other bodyparts. why i consider not directly training them year-round is because it gives me time to focus on other bodyparts i feel are more important. i mean, if i don't work my abs for 5 months, i really don't notice a bit of difference personally.

as far as your statement "needmorestrength", i agree 100%. however, like i stated above, i have a very thick waist and it is ridiculously strong compared to my other bodyparts, therefore the strength of it isn't a concern to me. my main concern is keeping my obliques to a minimum size, which is hard to do with the training of my abs.

i guess this is a very individualized situation for people. just like some people train calves 3x a week and others 1x, and both may have calves just as well balanced proportionately to their other bodyparts. it's all what works for you.

[BIGPHIL]

Always keep em trained no matter what im doing (bulking,dieting)

[IBdmfkr]

i dont know why you would completely ignore a muscle just because you are bulking.

How is it an ignored muscle unless you are doing all isolation movements in the gym. This statement doesn't make sense.

Have you ever done heavy squats/deadlifts without a belt?

[SPIKE]

Remember that you use your trunk indirectly with most core exercises that you do.

How is it an ignored muscle unless you are doing all isolation movements in the gym. This statement doesn't make sense.

Have you ever done heavy squats/deadlifts without a belt?

i dont know why you would completely ignore a muscle just because you are bulking.

There's your answer KK. Your core is somewhat the anchor of your body. Every movement is started from those 26-29 muscles Man I really need a refresher, LOL.

As IBD stated you used that area all the time. You dont necessarily need to be directly doing abs. That are indirectly being used throughout the day.

[kaptainkeezy04]

How is it an ignored muscle unless you are doing all isolation movements in the gym. This statement doesn't make sense.

Have you ever done heavy squats/deadlifts without a belt?

you know what i meant man...why would you not directly work them (crunches, leg raises) just because you are bulking.

[IBdmfkr]

I see no reason to directly work them, as previously stated by numerous members who agree they are indirectly worked which seems like more than enough. I think it comes down to lower BF %'s that really make or break great abs. There will be many different opinions on this subject, I was just giving you mine. I'm quite happy with my abs, I'll not be changing my routine.