Bad Abs

[billitis]

Over the years i have neglected my abs. they have never been a priority for me which is disapointing. I have been on as weight loss program that i have been successful with so far. 33 lbs down and 17 to go! I also have been increasing all my lifts, averaging 20 lbs on all my compound lifts.

However i have seen that my abs are lacking. i know that you can't really see them untill you hit 7% bf, but i am not looking to get skinny enough to see them constantly (not my goal at the moment). I want to be able to see fullness when i flex, and possibly the outline. I just started an ab routine yesterday and plan on continuing it 4 out of 7 days a week. I do about 350 reps including lower, upper, and obliques. My question, should i continue this high rep routine or should i begin using weight to work the muscle more? if at all possible. Obliques are my main target because even when i used to do abs, obliques were always deprived.

Any suggestions on work outs to help make my obliques and side cuts pop? Thank you

[wwarrior2469]

first, you don't have to be 7% bf to see your abs. visual abs are a matter of how large the muscle is compared to how little the fat surrounding them is.

if you have always neglected your abs you need to be doing weighed abs for moderate reps. this will build muscle and help you get that "pop" you're looking for.

don't forget to let your abs recover. at first you may feel sore due to lack of training. your abs aren't special, they're a muscle like any other.

[MercTime]

first, you don't have to be 7% bf to see your abs. visual abs are a matter of how large the muscle is compared to how little the fat surrounding them is.

if you have always neglected your abs you need to be doing weighed abs for moderate reps. this will build muscle and help you get that "pop" you're looking for.

don't forget to let your abs recover. at first you may feel sore due to lack of training. your abs aren't special, they're a muscle like any other.

good advice. I agree about doing some weighted exercises. Especially for people who used to be heavier and may not have the skin elasticity of some thinner people, weighted ab exercises will thicken the abs up a bit and make them more visible than they normally would be with moderate body fat

[billitis]

first, you don't have to be 7% bf to see your abs. visual abs are a matter of how large the muscle is compared to how little the fat surrounding them is.

if you have always neglected your abs you need to be doing weighed abs for moderate reps. this will build muscle and help you get that "pop" you're looking for.

don't forget to let your abs recover. at first you may feel sore due to lack of training. your abs aren't special, they're a muscle like any other.

Thanks man, any recommendations? I know of cable crunches, but what else can i do for obliques and those side cuts?

[FWCMuZiK]

i used to have good abs then started neglecting during gains you really gotta go hard on the ab machines i do heavy weights n theyll be back in no time. With your weight id focus on heavy weights on the ab machines and that way theyll show once youre around 14%

[Birddog6424]

I have decent ab definition at 14%. The bottoms are just starting to peak through.

All I do to build them up is weighted cable crunches 3x 15-20 and weighted knee raise 3x 15-20. Twice a week. Not a ton of sets or reps.

[ichidkiller]

Over the years i have neglected my abs. they have never been a priority for me which is disapointing. I have been on as weight loss program that i have been successful with so far. 33 lbs down and 17 to go! I also have been increasing all my lifts, averaging 20 lbs on all my compound lifts.

However i have seen that my abs are lacking. i know that you can't really see them untill you hit 7% bf, but i am not looking to get skinny enough to see them constantly (not my goal at the moment). I want to be able to see fullness when i flex, and possibly the outline. I just started an ab routine yesterday and plan on continuing it 4 out of 7 days a week. I do about 350 reps including lower, upper, and obliques. My question, should i continue this high rep routine or should i begin using weight to work the muscle more? if at all possible. Obliques are my main target because even when i used to do abs, obliques were always deprived.

Any suggestions on work outs to help make my obliques and side cuts pop? Thank you

I agree that 7% is very low body fat. You should see abs at 15%. Now for the bad news, abdominal 6 pack as in rectus abdomoninus muscles are hereditary. Not everyone has a 6 pack underneath the layer of sub q fat. some people have a flat sheet of muscle for abdominals. I see that all the time at the shows. They can diet and do all the ab exercises the want. that is the hand they were dealt by the Creator. No abs. Sorry. Same with calves. some people got em and some people don't. take it up with God.

[GeneralSerpant]

,,some people have a flat sheet of muscle for abdominals. They can diet and do all the ab exercises the want. that is the hand they were dealt by the Creator. No abs. Sorry. Same with calves. some people got em and some people don't. take it up with God.

I was going to post something insightful, but now I think I'll just reflect on how much you scared me, and how severe my dreams will be for the rest of the week.

[ichidkiller]

I was going to post something insightful, but now I think I'll just reflect on how much you scared me, and how severe my dreams will be for the rest of the week.

i don't necesarily mean you, dude. i never seen you before. it is true though, some guys just don't have a pretty 6 pack. maybe when you get down there in the bodyfat, water retention thing you have a 6 pack. i don't know? Try posing them in the mirror. Do crunch pose and vacuum cleaner pose. that helps. sorry man, i did not mean to crush your dreams. keep trying. Maybe you got em. do ab work pose them diet and try taking a water pill maybe. that might help. sorry.

[billitis]

I agree that 7% is very low body fat. You should see abs at 15%. Now for the bad news, abdominal 6 pack as in rectus abdomoninus muscles are hereditary. Not everyone has a 6 pack underneath the layer of sub q fat. some people have a flat sheet of muscle for abdominals. I see that all the time at the shows. They can diet and do all the ab exercises the want. that is the hand they were dealt by the Creator. No abs. Sorry. Same with calves. some people got em and some people don't. take it up with God.

I know i have abs. back in high school when i was wrestled 189 i had a 4 pack. and even then i didn't do any extra ab work other than practice. Thats why i'm looking for weighted ab workout suggestions.

[Atlasius88]

I've also neglected my abs for a while thinking that all the compounds would be enough to take care of them. Recently I've started hitting them directly with weight in the 8-15 rep range and they have really improved and definetly look better then back when I used to do hundreds of reps.

[Rasputin4]

If you're doing several compounds on a regular basis (such as bench press, standing overhead press, squat, deadlift, pullups or rows) then your abs should be getting hit pretty decently.

[ichidkiller]

I know i have abs. back in high school when i was wrestled 189 i had a 4 pack. and even then i didn't do any extra ab work other than practice. Thats why i'm looking for weighted ab workout suggestions.

Ok, thats cool. At least you know you have some seperation under it all.. Have you ever seen an emaciated person? You know like a pictures of a starving person, or say a cadaver that is dissected in anatomy class? They have good abdominal muscularity on display. Abdominal muscularity is mostly a matter of getting rid of the fat and water retention that is obscuring the view.

As far as abdominal work goes. I really only do a lot of abdominal work if I am getting ready for a show, even then i don't really know if it helps. But it kind of satisfies my obsessive compusive desire to "do something" about making my abs good for the show. Your abdominals in truth get worked everytime you do any compound movement. It is part of what 'holds you together" as in your core.

I don't do anything fancy and my abs are pretty good. In my pic there I am doing "vacuum cleaner" so they don't really show in that pose, look flat. I just do the basic stuff. Leg raises, sit ups, incline sit ups, crunches sometimes cables, that and diet. that really is all there is. Peace.
Peace.

[Birddog6424]

If you're doing several compounds on a regular basis (such as bench press, standing overhead press, squat, deadlift, pullups or rows) then your abs should be getting hit pretty decently.

Compound lifts are great for strengthening your core. You can't really count on them to hypertrophy those muscles though.

[GeneralSerpant]

i don't necesarily mean you, dude. i never seen you before. it is true though, some guys just don't have a pretty 6 pack. maybe when you get down there in the bodyfat, water retention thing you have a 6 pack. i don't know? Try posing them in the mirror. Do crunch pose and vacuum cleaner pose. that helps. sorry man, i did not mean to crush your dreams. keep trying. Maybe you got em. do ab work pose them diet and try taking a water pill maybe. that might help. sorry.

no sir, I'm just thinking about all the people in such a condition. As matter of fact this condition has never been brought to my attention in all my years of Bodybuilding/Strength Training.

[Atlasius88]

Compound lifts are great for strengthening your core. You can't really count on them to hypertrophy those muscles though.

I definetly agree with this.

[ablts]

Compound workouts will work great. But 350 reps, OP? On my non-gym days, I do 25 reps...5x5 leg lifts on a pull up bar, focusing on having perfect form on each one.

More reps =/= better abs.

[NicholasdelaiR]

you start to see your abs at about 10-12 percent BF and i would do weighted over high reps any day

[Rasputin4]

I wouldn't recommend mass gains for the abs though to attain an optimal physique. Hence, the strength gains from compounds should be good.

[LoneWolf720]

Over the years i have neglected my abs. they have never been a priority for me which is disapointing. I have been on as weight loss program that i have been successful with so far. 33 lbs down and 17 to go! I also have been increasing all my lifts, averaging 20 lbs on all my compound lifts.

However i have seen that my abs are lacking. i know that you can't really see them untill you hit 7% bf, but i am not looking to get skinny enough to see them constantly (not my goal at the moment). I want to be able to see fullness when i flex, and possibly the outline. I just started an ab routine yesterday and plan on continuing it 4 out of 7 days a week. I do about 350 reps including lower, upper, and obliques. My question, should i continue this high rep routine or should i begin using weight to work the muscle more? if at all possible. Obliques are my main target because even when i used to do abs, obliques were always deprived.

Any suggestions on work outs to help make my obliques and side cuts pop? Thank you

this is just my opinion! but i think hitting them twice a week, with high reps, about 200 per ab workout creates the best abs, this is just my opinion.

[billitis]

thanks guys. I do, do a compund lift everyday that i'm at the gym, didn't realize how much of an effect those lifts actually have on your abs. From what i got from all your input i'm gonna try to mix in 3 days of abs. 2 days of weighted and 1 of higher reps. It seems that doing high reps are not the consensus of the group.

on a side note i just did my bf% and i'm roughly around 21%... i was at 30% about 2-1/2 months ago. if i stay on track i should be weighing around 220 with 11% bf in about 1-1/2 months. by then i will have hopefully lost my love handles and have definition of my abs just as school is getting out for summer break. thank you.

cheers