Quote Originally Posted by Sust Man
I think this is done more so for mental toughness, endurance, and getting your body to adapt to more and more stress over time. I think its kinda like being a marine or something in boot camp. Those guys get hardly any sleep and do crazy amounts of cardio and physical conditioning. They don't do it to get big and defined, they do it to push the boundaries of their body and get acustomed to high workloads.
I would agree with this...I mean look at Carlos E, ZERO ab work, a good contest prep diet, and BOOM, you could wash clothes on the mother fu cker...

When I bulk I feel my abs get smoked with Deads, Rows, and Squats, amoungst others...So when I shed down I see no reason why they wouldn't have grown as well!

Abs are a Reflection of Ones diet!!! Period.