Working on getting a ripped midsection

[sexylilthug86]

Hi I'm 17 and I have wanted to become ripped for quite some time now. I've really just started a few months ago but I want to make sure I'm doing things right. I do 30 minutes of cardio twice a day. Since I don't have any weights at home I can work with I have to rely on push-ups and sit-ups until I can get my own bench. But I'm pretty toned except for my abs! My upper abdominals look good but its the lower abs that I can get! They are so damn stubborn! My obliques are okay they might need a little work but I'm really trying to focus on my lower abs... Can anyone help???
Thanx~

[JEFF7322]

Do crunches (1/4 sit ups) and knee raises rather than full sit ups (a lot of the stress is on the hips there instead of abs)

Also, what is your diet like in a day?

[Emma-Leigh]

Arggg.. I feel your pain! Abs are amongst the hardest areas to show well. A lot has to do with genetics - relating to the bone structure of your ribs, waist and hips and also relating to where you will store your body fat. I just happen to have -
1. No waist
2. A predisposition to store body fat on my waist
So it means that it is really hard for me to get my abs looking good.

All you can do is:
1. Make sure your body fat is low enough, while still being healthy - it varies for different females but it usually means no lower than about 12%. 13-15% is usually fine. Do this with clean eating and cardio. However, I think that you might actually be overdoing the cardio at the moment - 6 days a week is really all that is needed (at a max!!). Also - 30 minutes a day is plenty, you don't have to do cardio twice a day. Remember - If you OVERTRAIN you actually build less muscle and so it will be harder for your abs to show and for you to 'tone' well. You also stress your body so it is more likely to store incoming energy rather than using it to build and fuel muscles.

Remember - rest periods are just as important as your workouts.

2. Training your abs specifically - in theory, if you train your abs hard enough (so you get a good dose of muscle soreness afterwards) you should not be able to train them more than 2 (or at a max, 3) times a week. Anymore than this and you are not going to be allowing sufficient time for recovery between training sessions - which means you will not be build your ab muscles as quickly as you should be. So - try training 2 or 3 times a week only. When you train, make sure you are not just doing 'crunches' in a 'ho hum.. lets do crunches' type way. You have to train them so they BURN and you sweat and swear and puff! Start to do things like weighted exercises - using a heavy book or a sac of rice or something (until you can get your own weights) and holding it over your head or putting it on your chest when you do crunches. Also, make sure your technique is correct. A lot of people think that by keeping your torso straight you will get a better workout - BUT this is wrong! You have to make sure you are curling up - Your abs act to BEND your spine, so you have to actively BEND your spine to get a proper ab contraction. Also - lifting your body straight can cause you to just engage your hip flexors and you don't get the full ab benifits. Do the crunches REALLY SLOWLY to get added benifit.

Bicycles are also really good for your lower abs and also to target your deeper abdominals (transverse abdominals) which helps you get a nice flat look. Do them SLOWLY and alternate the height of your legs (so, as you are doing the exercises slowly raise them to the vertical and then lower them so you are only a few inches from the ground).

Isometric holds where you get your body into a 'v' shape (holding your legs straight, about 50 degrees above the ground, and holding your upper body at the same angle, so you are balancing on your bum) are also really good for targetting the whole 'bib' of your rectus abdominus muscles (these are the muscles that run down your front - the ones that give you the six pack).

I would also recommend you get a exercise ball!! These are GREAT for your abs!!

You could also try this site:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm
And here:
http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
To look up abs exercises.

[imperfectly_lou]

Unfortunately, the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" really is true! Without a really clean diet, it is very difficult to get your body fat low enough to show off your abs.

When you train abs, make sure you are training all parts - upper, lower and obliques. Sit-ups are pretty useless because they engage the hip flexors more than the abs....... There is a really good article in this month's Oxygen (orange cover) that has a good basic - no equipment required - article on training abs and the required nutrition. Check it out.

Also don't forget genetics. As Emma said, some people just will never have ripped abs, no matter how low their BF goes!

[robertthoburn]

Originally posted by sexylilthug86
But I'm pretty toned except for my abs! My upper abdominals look good but its the lower abs that I can get! They are so damn stubborn! My obliques are okay they might need a little work but I'm really trying to focus on my lower abs... Can anyone help???
Thanx~

Hi, Sexylilthug. Thanks for your post. I just made a response to a similar post elsewhere today. I've posted it below.

Keep me posted on your progress.

Respectfully,
Rob

You probably already know this, but in case you haven't heard it a million times, here goes:

Even though certain exercises will FEEL like they are working your lower abs more, these exercises will not actually develop them any more than would any other exercise for which the principle working muscle is the abdominals.

That being said, I prefer to do more than one type of abdominal exercise for the sake of sanity, in particular, its preservation. I do LOTS of sets for abs, and can't imagine doing all of them on on exercise (e.g., crunches).

As far as exercises go, I recommend doing:

(1) crunches on the floor (hold a weight behind your head when necessary)

(2) hanging leg raises (roll your pelvis up towards your stomach)(hold a dumbbell between feet when necessary ---shouldn't be necessary for a while if you do these right)

(3) reverse crunches (on bench) (curl pelvis up towards stomach)

The key to developing your abs, like any other muscle group, is to make them sustain a high work rate over a period of many sets (i.e., more than just 1 or 2).

Since every muscle is composed of more than one muscle fiber type, there may be some advantage in using more than one training approach.

To keep things simple, scientists refer to 'slow-twitch' and 'fast-twitch' muscle fibers. Slow-twitch muscle fibers contract a bit more slowly, whereas fast-twitch muscle fibers...yes...contract more quickly.

The abs contain both slow- and fast-twitch fibers. Thus, a one-size-fits-all approach to developing them may not be the best approach.

What I suggest (for details, see my thread "The ROB approach")(link is below), is to perform some sets where you rest 50 seconds between sets, and some where you rest only 20 seconds between sets.

Slow-twitch fibers achieve their maximal work rate at a slower contraction speed, which requires lifting a heavier weight (you can't lift a heavy weight as quickly). This requires resting a bit longer between sets. Fast-twitch fibers, on the other hand, achieve their maximal work rate at a faster contraction speed. Thus, you don't have to rest as long, which also facilitates a higher work rate (more work, less time).

Now, this is just a theory of mine. It's not proven on scientific grounds. Yes, I've discussed facets of "the ROB approach" with some University research scientists who know a sh*tload more than I do, but it is a theory.

One thing I can say with certainty is that if you incorporate the ROB principles into your ab workouts ---and all other muscle groups you train-- you will see some astounding results in the mirror.

Hope this provided some useful insights. Please do check out my links.

I appreciate you taking the time to post your question, and thank you for listening, too.

Respectfully,
Rob

[beadvised]

you can build abs..but you have to get the body fat down to see them... diet is key

[stl_lev_rone]

bump

you can do all the sit ups you want. u can even do some fancy ab exercises but withouth the right diet nothing will happen. thats y u see these kids(guys) wieghing 150 lbs with six packs. thats because they are so skinny they have no extra fat on the stomach. there are people with strong(and i mean strong) mid sections that dont even have a 2 pack.

diet is key.

[sabreman]

There's a great article in M & F this month by Kim Lyons about her ab workout. I'd recommend reading that.

[sexylilthug86]

Thanx everyone! So I really gotta focus on my diet basically, I've been so used to doin all kinds of sit-ups all day but nothing works! I still dont have any weights but i'm trying to sign up at this powerhouse gym. I have another question as well, what type of diet would you recommend? When it comes to dieting I usually just cut out a lot of fatty foods or most sugars cuz I know thats part of the problem. I know its more to dieting so if you could help I would like to know of any good diets to stay toned up and I think that would help so if you had any suggestions please post them~

[robertthoburn]

Originally posted by sexylilthug86
Thanx everyone! So I really gotta focus on my diet basically, I've been so used to doin all kinds of sit-ups all day but nothing works! I still dont have any weights but i'm trying to sign up at this powerhouse gym. I have another question as well, what type of diet would you recommend? When it comes to dieting I usually just cut out a lot of fatty foods or most sugars cuz I know thats part of the problem. I know its more to dieting so if you could help I would like to know of any good diets to stay toned up and I think that would help so if you had any suggestions please post them~

Hi, sexy lil thug! Thanks very much for your post.

I've been helping a few women as of late, and I thought I might be able to offer you some useful insights.

When you have a chance, please visit my Web site and read "The Glucose Economy", as well as "The ROB Concept". These will give you an idea of what exactly your diet or workout needs to achieve in order to get you the physique you want to see in the mirror.

So long as you get enough protein (this is easy), and don't eat too many calories (most people mess this up), then just about any macronutrient profile can get you 'ripped'/'shredded'/etc.

Many bodybuilders simply eat too many calories, even when 'bulking'. Ideally, your calories should all come from whole, unprocessed foods. But even if you over eat 'clean' foods, you will eventually get fat.

Food I prefer include: lean cuts of fresh beef, skinned chicken breast, eggs/egg whites, tuna (water-packed), fresh salmon, sole, non-fat dairy, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, grapefruit, brown rice.

No dietary supplements are needed to achieve optimal gains in muscle mass or reductions in fat mass. Protein supplements and meal replacements offer convenience, and that's it. (I used to design some of these products, and write ads for them.)

Use the mirror as your judge, lil thug. If you look in the mirror and see that you are not as lean as you'd like to be, then cut calories, either by eating fewer of them and/or burning up more of them with exercise.

If you like, feel free to send me your workout routine so that I can make sure it is designed in a way that builds muscle as quickly as possible. Just about any resistance training workout can build muscle, but some do a better job than others. The common thread linking effective workouts together is what I call the "ROB Concept". You can read more about it on my Web site.

Even a slight change in the number of sets per muscle group or the rest taken between sets can amplify into big differences in terms of muscle gain or not gained over a period of weeks or months of training.

Please do visit my Web site, and if you have any questions after reading "The Glucose Economy" and "What is the ROB Concept?", please do not hesitate to ask.

I'll do my very best to help you out.

Thanks again for your time and interest. I appreciate the opportunity to share my insights.

Kindest regards,
Rob

[GIjoe]

Muscle&fitness has a great book that has helped both my wife and I. Look for it. Its simply called the AB book by Muscle&fitness. It has great routines including diet and cardio. I lost 2 inches in 3 months with this. And my wife has lost almost the same. But now when we wrestle around she can actually come close to pinning me. BIG difference. Hope this helps. Also just pound them lower abs.. feel the burn... love it.. and look forward to the next day you have your abs to work out.

[peregrine]

6packs are made in the kitchen

stick with low glycemic indexed carbohydrates(yams, sweet potatoes, oatmeal). keep protein medium to high and be sure to intake enough efas(salmon, almonds, fish caps). take a daily multi.
avoid fruits(omg), refined flour, wheat.

[MsFit]

Originally posted by peregrine
6packs are made in the kitchen

Do you fry, bake, or broil them? *joke*

[peregrine]

Originally posted by MsFit
Do you fry, bake, or broil them? *joke*

Don't know but what time is dinner i'll be over shortly. make sure you are pumped too.
jk

[Kane Fan]

are you a female who refers to herself as a thug?
the name is throwing me here...

[sexylilthug86]

yeah Im a girl but also tomboy who wants to get into shape

[MsFit]

If ya gonna be a thug, may as well be a sexy one.....eh?

[sexylilthug86]

Exactly!

[peregrine]

if you can get an exercise ball they have some great moves you can do on them

the jackknife will definately hit your lower abs
cruches on them are also great because of the extension and full range

i feel a lot of ab definition aside from diet(you have to have low bf) comes from posing/flexing. so when i do my sets i flex every(almost) movement, this will bring out the cuts.

[SIXPAK GQ]