How many days a week should i do abs?

[greenstyle]

I know that you shouldn't overwork chest, thighs but is it acceptable to do 100 ab crunches etc a day, 3 days a week?

btw i know abs are made in the kitchen but just want to speed up things

[NattyMeso]

I know that you shouldn't overwork chest, thighs but is it acceptable to do 100 ab crunches etc a day, 3 days a week?

btw i know abs are made in the kitchen but just want to speed up things

squat and deadlift = abs taken care of (srs)


no need to hit abs directly if you're hitting heavy squats/deads weekly

[rockandrollaz]

Front Squats are the shiit

[Zuggie]

I do weighted abs 3 times a week for about 20 minutes or so..

[Morrissey889]

4 days. anything less will be under training, anything more would be over training.

[fleabass11]

Front Squats are the shiit

this^

[Bradster101190]

Just going to copy a reply I gave before...

still don't understand reps on this website and have no profile picture so I am looking great for giving advice. Or am I?

I AM opening my own training facility in Panama City and have multiple certifications including NASM but this is MISC so I should have just said I am Ronnie Coleman...


Either way , working your abs can be very complex through trial and error or easy if your a good guesser , everyone responds differently to abdominal training, some people get insanely carved abs in 3 months and I have some people do the same routine and not get it for 5 months until they varied the program. Some people train abs every 72 hours or some people do it everyday....

I would start off using vacuums to work your transverse abdominis and add in some isometric training everyday or every other day depending on your level of training, such as a 1minute plank.

Then for the standard meat and potatoes exercises I would do oblique crunches, cross body crunchs,reverse crunchs , roman chairs and ect. Staying away from the standard " you bro do 200 crunches a day to get jacked" A standard workout could be...

5 minutes of roman chairs
1min isometric plank
50 oblique crunchs each side
25 reverse crunchs

Also add a set of 8x12 dumbell pullovers for your serratus anterior muscles, like someone mentioned in a past comment they can be easily trained in 4 weeks at least begin to show. This exercise was also believed by Arnold to help "expand your rib cage" and from what I have seen it works in that way too. Add it in after a nice cheat workout. Consider it more of a stretch then to lift heavy weight though , hence the 12 reps.

See how difficult that is and if you blow through it vary the numbers to suite you. In 4 weeks of a program like this added onto your normal resistance training you should see good progress, Arnold did ab work 6 days a week and considered it one of the fastest recovering muscles like the calves. You can do it every other day(48 hour rest) and you'll be fine.


Also remember abs are hugely effected by your diet, if your not under 13% bodyfat your abs most likely wont be looking great..

Also most people only train abs 2-3 times a week but these people usually A: have good abs already or B: have been doing this 6 months and have no abs , just a flat stomach..

When specifically going for abs training them every other day is perfectly acceptable and every day for advanced lifters IF you do different variations. Your "abs" are made of your rectus abdominis , internal and external obliques , transverse abdominis ect so theres a lot to work if you do variations.

Also if you practice "the drawing in maneuver" through vacuums you can use your transervse abdominis to create intra abdominal pressure for major lifts like Squat and Deadlift. Done correctly your abs can be extremely sore after a good squat workout....This will also allow you to go relatively heavy without a belt if you can learn to create your own pressure.( I have seen 475 done with no belt many many times by my friend who does this)

Personal Notes: at your age , and mine ( even beginning in your early 20s) your metabolism is slowing so 4-6 meals will become almost necessary for great abs and diet could be all thats holding you back if you've trained squats and other full body movements for years. Also a lot of studies have shown as someone ages the way they carry water weight can shift to the core, which is another huge limiting factor on abs so try really lowering general salt intake for a week and see if that helps if your already close.

[Simmo89]

twice a day erry day

[Radzz]

disregard ab workouts, aquire heavy deadlift and squats

but if you want to take it further i'd say twice a week get some good leg raises and crunches in son.

[NZDarren]

8 days a week

[demadio]

Hitting abs 2-3 times a week hard is enough. Actually i'd suggest 2.