F*** Abs

[abbot138]

Alright I'm giving up on abs. I'm at 4.7% bf. Cardio 6 days a week, 45 min, first thing in morning. Diet is immaculate, even tried cutting my carbs and calories back. Hit abs and obliques twice a week. I give up. I have a 4 pack going at best. My upper abs seem to stick out instead of getting ripped up. Is all this bad genetics? Any thoughts? And if anyone tells me abs are all diet and cardio I'm gonna flip out bc my diet and cardio and bf are all in check.

[kfrost06]

You need to do more than 2x a week for abs. You should do them every single day and hit them really hard 3-4x a week. High reps, slow static movement.

[abbot138]

OK, I keep hearing varied opinions on this. Some people say just treat them like any other muscle and kill em once or twice a week and then let them rest, making sure you dont over train them. But I'm willing to try anything, so I will give this a go. Thanks.

[kfrost06]

abs are not like the other muscles and you do not want them to get big you want them to get ripped and for those 2 reasons you need to do them everyday. watch the progress you make, you'll be very happy well except when your doing them.

[abbot138]

LOL! Yeah I think that has been part of my problem, so many people on here say just hit em once or twice a week and I'm thinkin, that sounds a lot easier than every day. Hate to be a pain in the a**, but if you get a minute can you PM me some of the exercises you use. I have zero creativity when it comes it abs, i end up doing crunches, leg lifts, and reverse crunches every time i do em.

[soulstealer]

Its simple your not 4.7% @ 4.7% BF you would have a christmass tree on your lower back... and you would be working toward striations on your ass...

[abbot138]

LOL! That was my thinking as well. I get a caliper bf test every week (chest, stomach, leg). So your thinking my bf test is just off?

[soulstealer]

Definately.... 7 point test is going to your best bet... just post some pics.... Front double Bi...rear double bi/leg shot/ calf shot/ab flex and I could tell you about where you are...Post it in the pic forum under title "estimate BF" or something... you'll get a ton of responses..

[abbot138]

Thanks will do tomorrow, at work right now. Appreciate it.

[sorel_C]

ive seen some guys with almost like no abb at very low body fat %%((gentics),, aside from that if that pic in the avatar is you now,, one thing for sure i s you not 4.7%,,,, im ganna go with you dont have to hit your abbs as much as some others said,, you just have to bring you BF down some more

[TR'05]

At sub 5% you'd be able to see you pancreas make insulin, bro.

You're lookin' great in the avatar, bro. The abs will come in due time- keep up the diet/cardio (they're the hardest parts).

[abbot138]

LOL! Thanks. That really pisses me off, idiot trainers at my gym. I have been gearing my diet and cardio around what they've been telling me my BF was. I could have been a lot leaner by now, but I would back off the cardio and up my calories when the told me I was 6% or lower. Thanks for the help guys.

[soulstealer]

Trainers are a strange breed..... and most of them definately know what their talking about .... when it comes to middleaged fat women who want to look sexy again...

[aer_vlad]

**edit**

[BONE.CRUSHER]

you should train hypertrophy for your abs, and train with reps ranging 8-12 instead of 20-30, so do weighted exercises instead of 20-30. good luck

[Oki-Des]

I have always gone from having abs to not having abs. Just as the posts above suggest, my ability to see them has always been based on my diet rather than my routine. Your abs are all there, you just cant see them yet. Good Luck!

[abbot138]

Thanks guys, truly appreciate the help.

[novastepp]

abs are a tricky subject my man. some guys get nice abs by doing them everyday, but that is usually after they are lean. i would suggest wood choppers for 12 reps each side and do a few sets. and then tricep rope pulldowns where you put the rope behind your back and get on your knees. you can really concentrate the muscle with a lot of weight. hanging leg raises will finally torch them after a couple sets of 8. i would do them twice a week.

all that being said. abs showing are more so diet than anything else. post it up in this thread. and i know it sucks to say, but you aren't 4.whatever% bf.

[abbot138]

abs are a tricky subject my man. some guys get nice abs by doing them everyday, but that is usually after they are lean. i would suggest wood choppers for 12 reps each side and do a few sets. and then tricep rope pulldowns where you put the rope behind your back and get on your knees. you can really concentrate the muscle with a lot of weight. hanging leg raises will finally torch them after a couple sets of 8. i would do them twice a week.

all that being said. abs showing are more so diet than anything else. post it up in this thread. and i know it sucks to say, but you aren't 4.whatever% bf.

Yeah I know that now, I feel retarded for saying it. Stupid piece of garbage trainer at my gym thats been taking my bf for the past 2 years had me all screwed up. So therefore my goals have been all messed up, i've been bulking when I should have been cutting, etc. But anyway, I got a good grip on it now, posted some pics and everyone seems to say im around 11%, so I gotta re-evaluate my goals and such. Thanks for the ab tips.

[Ronnie Rowland]

In regards to abdominal development, it depends on your goals. If you are training the abs for more strength and size, they should be given the same rest between workouts as other body parts. However, training the abs hard everyday will overtrain them-hence cause these muscles to shrink. When you train a muscle every day what happnes? It does not get a chance to rebuild bigger and stronger, so it becomes smaller. The downfall of daily ab training is it can also make you weaker in that area and that can be a bad thing for inner core stability.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

I was kinda told, not sure who it was, but it went something like this.

It depends on yr goals. If your looking for a slimmer core, harder abs, do high rep bodyweight ab exercises. working them out every other day or so. hit them nice 4 times a week

If you want them to stand out, and be bigger/bulker, do lower rep weighted exercises, i.e. weighted decline sit ups. and hit abs 2-3 times a week

by high reps, I mean 40-50
by low reps, I mean 15-20

[novastepp]

In regards to abdominal development, it depends on your goals. If you are training the abs for more strength and size, they should be given the same rest between workouts as other body parts. However, training the abs hard everyday will overtrain them-hence cause these muscles to shrink. When you train a muscle every day what happnes? It does not get a chance to rebuild bigger and stronger, so it becomes smaller. The downfall of daily ab training is it can also make you weaker in that area and that can be a bad thing for inner core stability.

i can't do abs around my deadlift routine or legs. i feel real weak and my back hurts after. exactly why here... my core was trying to repair and was weak. good point rowland...

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

i can't do abs around my deadlift routine or legs. i feel real weak and my back hurts after. exactly why here... my core was trying to repair and was weak. good point rowland...

lol is that that stretchy guy from street fighter in yr avy?
what was his name again?

[novastepp]

lol is that that stretchy guy from street fighter in yr avy?
what was his name again?

dhalsim? yeah, i never liked him in the game, but i like the pic.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

dhalsim? yeah, i never liked him in the game, but i like the pic.

haha yeah thats it.

I was more of the Ryu and Guile guy