Hey guys i just started taking lifting seriously and I was wondering if you have to workout your abs directly or if compound movements like squats hit them good enough?
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11-01-2012, 04:39 PM #1
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11-01-2012, 04:49 PM #2
It helps definition to do weighted ab work but you will get nice abs just lifting heavy with compounds. In your position it would probably take a cut to 145 lbs to even have visible abs which is way too light. Eat more, lift more, and worry about cutting and seeing nice abs in a year+ from now unless you want to be one of those dudes that have the body of a girl.
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11-01-2012, 04:52 PM #3
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11-01-2012, 04:55 PM #4
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11-01-2012, 05:33 PM #5
You need to evaluate your core strength and stability. If they are lacking, weak abs will be weak links in some lifts like OHPs and squats.
I didn't realize how much squats and deadlifts did little to nothing to build a strong core until I started doing standing OHP and my midsection was wobbly. Once I started doing direct work, my numbers on OHP and squats started to shoot up and my form also improved.
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11-01-2012, 06:14 PM #6
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11-01-2012, 06:29 PM #7
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11-01-2012, 07:00 PM #8
Depends on your goals. Functionally speaking, your core muscles are mostly for keeping your spin stable. Hence, they're best trained with static contractions - like the plank. Big moves like the standing military press will also develop your core stability.
If, however, you're after a bulging six-pack, there will come a time when you want to introduce weight resistance moves for your six pack - like weighted crunches, or the ab machine, since this is the only real way to achieve significant hypertrophy. There's no point in doing this, however, until your body fat is low enough for your six pack to be visible.
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11-01-2012, 07:06 PM #9
you do need to do ur core. not just for definition, but for stability. strong core = strong lifts, weak core = injury everywhere
focus!
'We need a standard to be measured against. There's no way Roelly got the call and I didn't. He looked like sh**. I'm wayyy too old to be played with man' - Toney Freeman 'X-Man'
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11-01-2012, 07:26 PM #10
There aren't very many "non-ab" exercises that really strengthen them, to a large extent.
So, yes. Generally speaking, there is a need. All the more so if you're a raw lifter.
Relying on squats (high bar or low; whichever), for example, for abdominal strength, is effing stupid.
"The abs" is the flipside to the lower back. You really want either side of that area to be weak? I sure as hell don't.
edit: Oh, and to dispel yet another myth while I'm at it - many classic direct ab exercises are compound exercises as well. Just for the record.Last edited by MichaelCJ; 11-01-2012 at 07:33 PM.
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11-01-2012, 09:20 PM #11
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11-01-2012, 09:35 PM #12
If u r new to lifting..first thing to do is dont even think about the word "cutting"
Second, train ur core just like u train every other muscle. Your core is the foundation or ur body. Thats like building a house on sand. Third, train your legs. Dont worry about how much weight u do just use good form and u will grow. Good luck buddy
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11-01-2012, 09:43 PM #13
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11-02-2012, 07:48 AM #14
What exercises did you start doing for direct ab/core work? I had been doing goblet squats "wrong", but it was hitting my abs, I started doing starting strength while doing the squats "right" and it definitely isn't hitting my abs like it used to. I keep trying to figure out if anyone is doing ab work that can be incrementally weighted...
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11-02-2012, 08:15 AM #15
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11-02-2012, 11:16 AM #16No brain, no gain.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
Where the mind goes, the body follows.
Ironwill Gym:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=629719403&postcount=3388
Ironwill2008 Journal:
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11-02-2012, 11:55 AM #17
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11-02-2012, 12:26 PM #18
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11-02-2012, 12:38 PM #19
weighted situps, spread eagle situps, barbell rollouts, reverse crunch and lying leg raise.
speaking for myself the addition of direct ab work was born from taking pics and vids of lifts and various postural positions. i had some minor anterior pelvic tilt that needed to be worked on and part of that was strengthening the abs
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11-02-2012, 12:46 PM #20
I was a preacher of only doing compounds for abs and excluding direct ab work until I noticed my shrinking abs after my last cut. Now I'm back to doing 2-3 sets of direct ab work twice a week. In terms of functionality I'd say doing ab isolation exercises is unnecessary, although it does help with lower back recovery sometimes...
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11-02-2012, 01:09 PM #21
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