Ab workout, how much weight to use ?

[OFarrell86]

At the moment im using 20KG held behind my head while i do cruches, bicycles etc... should i use more weight or should i keep it safe ?
Any info is much appreciated

[Lewis185]

It depends on what sort of abs your looking for. For flat abs use less weight but for deep abs use heavy weight. If you go for the high weight low rep option you will also get a thicker midsection so the v-taper will not look as good.

[OFarrell86]

It depends on what sort of abs your looking for. For flat abs use less weight but for deep abs use heavy weight. If you go for the high weight low rep option you will also get a thicker midsection so the v-taper will not look as good.

Well im aiming for big muscular defined abs, i already have a 6 pack still working on lowering BF% further though, so i guess heavy weight it is then, thanks bud ^^

[matjusm]

At the moment im using 20KG held behind my head while i do cruches, bicycles etc... should i use more weight or should i keep it safe ?
Any info is much appreciated

Do you also ask people how much weight you should use on your squats or bench press?

Nobody can tell you what weight to use, its completely up to you and it depends on your personal strength levels.

[terman1]

Just a side note/tip that may work for you: If you have decided that you are going to use added weight and want to keep things simplified to track your progress and gains your best best is to treat your abs like any body part and adapt your ab workout accordingly.

If you want to find an easy way of determining how much weight to use you can use this principle: Lets say you usually work out using 3 sets of a weight where you fail on your 3rd set at around 6-8 reps then choose a weighted ab exercise with a similar property. Lets say you are doing decline crunches holding a plate. You can do one or two warm up sets of 10-12 reps then find a weight where you fail on the 6-8 rep range.

This is just an example so you can adapt this method according to what you currently do.

[Lewis185]

Well im aiming for big muscular defined abs, i already have a 6 pack still working on lowering BF% further though, so i guess heavy weight it is then, thanks bud ^^

No worries, I'm glad I could help.

[OFarrell86]

Just a side note/tip that may work for you: If you have decided that you are going to use added weight and want to keep things simplified to track your progress and gains your best best is to treat your abs like any body part and adapt your ab workout accordingly.

If you want to find an easy way of determining how much weight to use you can use this principle: Lets say you usually work out using 3 sets of a weight where you fail on your 3rd set at around 6-8 reps then choose a weighted ab exercise with a similar property. Lets say you are doing decline crunches holding a plate. You can do one or two warm up sets of 10-12 reps then find a weight where you fail on the 6-8 rep range.

This is just an example so you can adapt this method according to what you currently do.

thanks very much for the info

[Teramassud]

Do you also ask people how much weight you should use on your squats or bench press?

Nobody can tell you what weight to use, its completely up to you and it depends on your personal strength levels.

Yea sometimes i do, they tell me estimates from what i can already do, you just gotta ask the right people

[chazzy1864]

I use as much weight as needed to allow me to fail in my desired rep range.


Asking people (anybody, online or in person) how much weight you should be using is idiotic and pointless. No one can tell you how much you should be using.

[DJAuto]

I prefer a resistance that keeps me in the 8-15 range.