Abs: how often per week?

[jg42058p]

I've heard you can do abs several times a week, and I've also heard you should only work abs once per week.
How many?

Also: How many sets?

[dec11]

once, three diff exercises to hit upper, obliques and lowers. how many and sets depend on if they are weighted or not

[Chris J]

I too know dudes that work abs three plus times a week. I like dec's approach though. Maybe squeez in some crunches in between while watching the idiot box on top of that

[thingysmeg]

If your doing lots of compund exercises you'll probably find they get hit pretty hard indirectly anyway (in my case anyway)

Personally I do very little because of this. If that doesn't do much for you though, just stick with the basic leg raises and crunches twice a week (but most importantly, focus on the contraction with abs).

[pebble]

I've heard you can do abs several times a week, and I've also heard you should only work abs once per week.
How many?

Also: How many sets?

For what purpose? Hypertrophy or Force Transfer?

[jg42058p]

For what purpose? Hypertrophy or Force Transfer?

Sorry, I dont know what either mean.

My objective is to have 6 packs, that's all..

I only lift weights twice a week though. I jog and bike 5 days a week. When I lift I do upper body pushing exercises one day (bench presses, triceps) , then upper body pulling exercises the next day (biceps, upright rows, lats, seated rows).

Goal is being toned & cut. Not looking to have real big muscles.

[dec11]

Sorry, I dont know what either mean.

My objective is to have 6 packs, that's all..

I only lift weights twice a week though. I jog and bike 5 days a week. When I lift I do upper body pushing exercises one day (bench presses, triceps) , then upper body pulling exercises the next day (biceps, upright rows, lats, seated rows).

Goal is being toned & cut. Not looking to have real big muscles.

mr dictionary likes firing around his medical txt book there, to massage his ego, of course his terminology is useless in the real world.

if you want growth in your abbs, incorporate weighted exercises, ie 12rep standing side bends with dbells, weighted crunch table. if you just want to tighten then reps and no weights, ie 30+ reps lying heel taps, free form crunches

[pebble]

dec11 - Are you trying to say words like force, transfer, and hypertrophy have no place on a training forum?

OP, The reason I asked is because the abdominals primary role is to transfer force between the lower and upper body. For sports this is usually accomplished by training with stabilization techniques (i.e. planks) or rotational techniques (i.e. barbell twists). Seeing is your goal is solely aesthetics your exercise choice should be based around hypertrophy (muscle growth) training. I would suggest training them with a variety of rep ranges (5-8, 10-12, 15-20, and even >20) because they are postural muscles that are used all the time. This also means that you can train them more frequently because they do not fatigue as easily. You could easily get away with training them every other day without problems (as long as you do not cause excess trauma on the days you are working out).

To answer your question I would say 3-8 sets depending on how many reps you are doing. Sets and reps have an inverse relationship. This means that when you are doing 20+ reps you should be using a lower amount of sets for this example 3. But if you are doing 8 reps, 4-6 sets is likely more optimal. Don't forget that if you are doing fewer reps, it is smart to choose an exercise that resistance can be added to such as cable crunches, whereas with higher reps an exercise such as leg lifts is a better fit.
Diet (hypocaloric - less kcal than you need) will play a bigger role than the exercises you choose in making your goal happen. You need to reduce fat and allow your abs to be visible.

[brad1986]

dec11 - Are you trying to say words like force, transfer, and hypertrophy have no place on a training forum?

OP, The reason I asked is because the abdominals primary role is to transfer force between the lower and upper body. For sports this is usually accomplished by training with stabilization techniques (i.e. planks) or rotational techniques (i.e. barbell twists). Seeing is your goal is solely aesthetics your exercise choice should be based around hypertrophy (muscle growth) training. I would suggest training them with a variety of rep ranges (5-8, 10-12, 15-20, and even >20) because they are postural muscles that are used all the time. This also means that you can train them more frequently because they do not fatigue as easily. You could easily get away with training them every other day without problems (as long as you do not cause excess trauma on the days you are working out).

To answer your question I would say 3-8 sets depending on how many reps you are doing. Sets and reps have an inverse relationship. This means that when you are doing 20+ reps you should be using a lower amount of sets for this example 3. But if you are doing 8 reps, 4-6 sets is likely more optimal. Don't forget that if you are doing fewer reps, it is smart to choose an exercise that resistance can be added to such as cable crunches, whereas with higher reps an exercise such as leg lifts is a better fit.
Diet (hypocaloric - less kcal than you need) will play a bigger role than the exercises you choose in making your goal happen. You need to reduce fat and allow your abs to be visible.

agreed!! abdominal training as well as any other body part is totally goal dependant and diet dependant. dec11 is correct for powerlifting and hypertrophy that is the way to go but most functional goals (spinal and hip stabilization) would not use extra load and be able to be trained more often. wheather you have a six pack.... abs are made in the kitchen not the gym

[dec11]

agreed!! abdominal training as well as any other body part is totally goal dependant and diet dependant. dec11 is correct for powerlifting and hypertrophy that is the way to go but most functional goals (spinal and hip stabilization) would not use extra load and be able to be trained more often. wheather you have a six pack.... abs are made in the kitchen not the gym

hence i gave him two optional examples not just a hypertrophy orientated routine

[dec11]

dec11 - Are you trying to say words like force, transfer, and hypertrophy have no place on a training forum?

OP, The reason I asked is because the abdominals primary role is to transfer force between the lower and upper body. For sports this is usually accomplished by training with stabilization techniques (i.e. planks) or rotational techniques (i.e. barbell twists). Seeing is your goal is solely aesthetics your exercise choice should be based around hypertrophy (muscle growth) training. I would suggest training them with a variety of rep ranges (5-8, 10-12, 15-20, and even >20) because they are postural muscles that are used all the time. This also means that you can train them more frequently because they do not fatigue as easily. You could easily get away with training them every other day without problems (as long as you do not cause excess trauma on the days you are working out).

To answer your question I would say 3-8 sets depending on how many reps you are doing. Sets and reps have an inverse relationship. This means that when you are doing 20+ reps you should be using a lower amount of sets for this example 3. But if you are doing 8 reps, 4-6 sets is likely more optimal. Don't forget that if you are doing fewer reps, it is smart to choose an exercise that resistance can be added to such as cable crunches, whereas with higher reps an exercise such as leg lifts is a better fit.
Diet (hypocaloric - less kcal than you need) will play a bigger role than the exercises you choose in making your goal happen. You need to reduce fat and allow your abs to be visible.

no, not when someone replies with 'i dont understand that'. if you actually ever worked in the industry you'd realise what is for passing exams and what is good for explaination to the general public

[jg42058p]

mr dictionary likes firing around his medical txt book there, to massage his ego, of course his terminology is useless in the real world.

if you want growth in your abbs, incorporate weighted exercises, ie 12rep standing side bends with dbells, weighted crunch table. if you just want to tighten then reps and no weights, ie 30+ reps lying heel taps, free form crunches

Cool. So I guess I'll go for the high reps then. Maybe this will help me make them nice and tight...

I don't want to have bulging big abs, just toned ones

thanks

[brad1986]

hence i gave him two optional examples not just a hypertrophy orientated routine

My bad, i missed that.

[Chris J]

Glad that got settled in a timely manner.

[pebble]

no, not when someone replies with 'i dont understand that'. if you actually ever worked in the industry you'd realise what is for passing exams and what is good for explaination to the general public

First off, his response came after, not before my post. I had no way of knowing his level of education on this topic.
Secondly, I am not going to assume someone does not understand general training jargon. If the person doesn't understand I am willing to explain it to them to enrich their training knowledge. In no way am I going to treat people like they are not able to learn. The fact that you don’t share this information you (claim to) have and instead dumb it down beyond necessity speaks highly about the level of respect you have your clientele and the expectations your clients have of you.

Cool. So I guess I'll go for the high reps then. Maybe this will help me make them nice and tight...

I don't want to have bulging big abs, just toned ones

thanks

And you fall into the trap of idiocracy. Best of luck using high reps to cause a neuromuscular adaptation (I am speaking of homeostatic tone/ residual muscle tone – muscle tightness at rest) that occurs as a result of heavy lifting and low reps.

Kid, you need to work on your diet and focus on general resistance training. This will get you to where you want to be. High rep crunching variations are not the answer.

[dec11]

First off, his response came after, not before my post. I had no way of knowing his level of education on this topic.
Secondly, I am not going to assume someone does not understand general training jargon. If the person doesn't understand I am willing to explain it to them to enrich their training knowledge. In no way am I going to treat people like they are not able to learn. The fact that you don’t share this information you (claim to) have and instead dumb it down beyond necessity speaks highly about the level of respect you have your clientele and the expectations your clients have of you.



And you fall into the trap of idiocracy. Best of luck using high reps to cause a neuromuscular adaptation (I am speaking of homeostatic tone/ residual muscle tone – muscle tightness at rest) that occurs as a result of heavy lifting and low reps.

Kid, you need to work on your diet and focus on general resistance training. This will get you to where you want to be. High rep crunching variations are not the answer.

if you did coaching as well as you do arrogance then maybe someone might take a minute out of their day to notice you. lmfao

[scorpion62]

Dec I bow to the new you all that irish Diplomacy lol

[Corpsman]

Wow, check out the big brain on Pebble.