Help/Advice Needed - Elusive Abs

[Brownay]

Hello all,

I have been training in the gym for over 2 years now so I'd like to think I know my way around it more than your average person. However, there is always more to learn/ask about, and I have decided that I know **** all about abs... Ofc i know a lot of ab excercises and how to do them properly, but I never really bothered with doing abs in the beginning, and have only just realised the old 'you're only as good as your weakest bodypart' holds very true for me.

After finally being able to get back into the gym after 2 months off, I've decided to reassess my goals and finally decided to try for some visible abs. I've tried to cut down once before (as apposed to just trying to gain muscle) and it worked, but not to an amazing degree i.e. i never got a visible 6. I guess what I want to know is the following:

1. I heard that % bodyfat is everything when it comes to abs, <10% and u get visible abs even if you don't work them out... is this true/accurate? And if so...

2. Does that mean that cardio is more important when aiming for visible abs than actual ab work?

3. Whilst still wishing to maintain/gain muscle is it possible to improve your abs to a good level i.e. visible abs/ 6 pack?

4. An example of a 5 day a week training regime would be good, like cardio on monday, wednesday, friday, actual gym work on tuesday and thursday (just as an example).

5. I have around 10% bodyfat anyways, i'm not exactly what you'd call fat, but it just seems that abs are really allusive... and is it better to go for higher reps to burn abdominal fat before you start trying to actually gain bigger abdominal muscles, or just a balance of the two or what? Do core based excercises help?

6. What sort of supps do you lean towards if any atall? Protein standard I would assume, but then what? And how much?

What I really want to know is how to find a balance between gaining progress towards an eventual 6 pack (I know that you have to potentionally put a lot of work in for abs) whilst still maintaining a decent amount of muscle mass - even gaining some muscle. This 'balance', I beleive, is what is hindering me in my training, and any help would be appreciated, even if it's purely a matter of saying you either eat and bulk up for muscle, or diet towards fat loss and get abs, and there is no 'balance' between the two.

Clarification would be greatly appreciated, and I'll respond to any direct answer/ follow up any links that anyone has to offer.

Thanks in advance,

Brownay.

[Brownay]

Bump.

Some help would really be appreciated.

[PumpinPaddy]

youre 6'2 165 - the position i was in a year ago - you got to bulk, your abs probably arent big enough to see now anyway

eat lots, work your abs, but dont worry about seeing them - if you cut anymore you would be borderline anorexic

[Focal]

Originally Posted by PumpinPaddy

your 6'2 165 - the position i was in a year ago - you got to bulk, your abs probably arent big enough to see now anyway

eat lots, work your abs, but dont worry about seeing them - if you cut anymore you would be borderline anorexic

This, solid advice.

[Brownay]

The only problem with that is if I eat a lot more food then that will just defeat that object of trying to get abs cos my stomach will get a little coating of fat due to increased calories etc.

Problem I have is my abs are strong and I can feel them no worries, but the visibilty (due to %bodyfat i assume) makes them look non existant.

Bahhh, i really don't know.. cheers for the help anwyays.

[proflex12]

Originally Posted by Brownay

The only problem with that is if I eat a lot more food then that will just defeat that object of trying to get abs cos my stomach will get a little coating of fat due to increased calories etc.

Problem I have is my abs are strong and I can feel them no worries, but the visibilty (due to %bodyfat i assume) makes them look non existant.

Bahhh, i really don't know.. cheers for the help anwyays.

Only thing i can think of is to do plenty of weighted abs work which will make them thicker so maybe it will work for you
It worked for me so give it a try

[Brownay]

Thinking i'll just stick with the above advice after thinking about it - just carry on as normal for a while and then bulk up

Cheers for the help