friends with the 6 pack

[xxndnromeoxx]

I am doubting the "working ure abs once a week" theory due to some personals that i have met. they told me their routine and it went against all laws of what getting to rock solid shape in ure midsection should be. in fact, they didnt do it once a week.. they did it .. once a day hitting upper and lower. they had a full six in 6 months. i did not believe it at first till i saw it with my own eyes. Since then i have been doing weight crunches twice a week and hitting the lower with reverse crunches and leg lifts. the only growth i had gotten was a bigger upper two pack, and all it looks like is two vertical lines down the midsection. the lower abs dont seem to be even appearing. so maybe now i might try out the once a day thing. i have heard some boxers do it too, and their abs are phenominally cut and good size. has anyone else tried the once a day thing? i know they say it helps to build endurance and strength and thats it but im starting to believe more then that, sometimes i guess personal experience beats out any article u read.. like people say different strokes for different folks. well i wil try it out. anyone thing otherwise?

[Posner]

Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.

[MiloMan]

Hmm, another that believes in the spot reduction myth. If you want to see your abs, but can't, then you've still got too much fat on top of them.

[scott_donald]

yep low bf...

[amusclehead]

havn't you already made like 100posts on abs already?

abs = genetics+low body fat = luck + diet + cardio

[tbomb]

no offense to everyone who replied to this thread so far, cuz i respect a lot of the advice that some of you guys give, but i'm really getting sick of people saying "abs are made in the kitchen", or "do more cardio if you want to see your abs." maybe the point i'm going to make is just too obvious, but i'll make it anyway... you have to have the muscle there if you want to see it. i'm a scrawny bastard. i havent had my bf tested in about 2-3 years, but i'm estimating that i'm about 10% bf (due to genetics and diet), and i never saw my abs till i started working them hard with heavy weight. bottom line, it depends on your body type and your current physical condition. if youre a skinny dude, hit the heavy weights on the ab exercises. if youre a fat dude, hit the heavy weights on the ab exercises AND hit up the cardio.

i know i rambled a little too much, but my point was that theres more to getting washboard abs than doing cardio or cutting out the mcdonalds.

[MiloMan]

Originally posted by tbomb
i know i rambled a little too much, but my point was that theres more to getting washboard abs than doing cardio or cutting out the mcdonalds.

It's about taking in fewer calories than you burn, allowing you to drop the bodyfat, and continuing physical activity (like weightligting) to minimize muscle loss while in under a caloric deficiency.

Drugs work pretty well, too.

[ReSpAwN DeMoN]

Originally posted by tbomb
no offense to everyone who replied to this thread so far, cuz i respect a lot of the advice that some of you guys give, but i'm really getting sick of people saying "abs are made in the kitchen", or "do more cardio if you want to see your abs." maybe the point i'm going to make is just too obvious, but i'll make it anyway... you have to have the muscle there if you want to see it. i'm a scrawny bastard. i havent had my bf tested in about 2-3 years, but i'm estimating that i'm about 10% bf (due to genetics and diet), and i never saw my abs till i started working them hard with heavy weight. bottom line, it depends on your body type and your current physical condition. if youre a skinny dude, hit the heavy weights on the ab exercises. if youre a fat dude, hit the heavy weights on the ab exercises AND hit up the cardio.

i know i rambled a little too much, but my point was that theres more to getting washboard abs than doing cardio or cutting out the mcdonalds.

I don't beleive you have 10% BF and using that to back up your argeument. Lets pretend for a second that you have 14-15% BF. and you have "rock solid abs". Are you going to see them? Answer that yourself.

[amusclehead]

Originally posted by tbomb
i'm estimating that i'm about 10% bf .

ignorance right there; estimated bf is usually waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off; if you havn't been dunk tested, don't bother wasting your time guestimating

[Posner]

I love it when people estimate their bodyfat.

[nitsux]

What scrawny people don't realise is they only need a small amount of fat to have a bf higher than that where there abs would be visible.

[jino]

I agree with tbomb. Although I agree with most people that diet and cardio which leads to a low bodyfat is the biggest factor as far as abs is concerned, you still need to have some decent amounts of ab muscles to have visible abs. You can't sculpt a pebble. You have to hit those abs hard with heavy weights but having a low bodyfat is still what is most important!

xxndnromeoxx, if you want abs, your first priority should be to concentrate on lowering your bodyfat. However, you can't ignore the weight training. For abdominal mass, you should train those abs as often as any other muscle group. I recommend once a week using low reps with heavy weights. I wouldn't recommend going over 12 reps.

As far as getting that full six pack, you can't determine whether or not you're going to have it. Some people have and 8-pack, some have 4, and some have 6, it's all GENES! Ronnie Coleman is living proof. He is the current Mr. Olympia and even though his abs are developed and clearly visible, he only has 4 and 1 big one on the very bottom. Look at his pic: http://www.bigroncoleman.com/Media/2000_06LG.jpg

[Diesel Lifter]

Originally posted by jino
Ronnie Coleman is living proof. He is the current Mr. Olympia and even though his abs are developed and clearly visible, he only has 4 and 1 big one on the very bottom. Look at his pic: http://www.bigroncoleman.com/Media/2000_06LG.jpg

The HGH also doesn't help Ronie's gut to much though.....

[tbomb]

jesus christ guys, so f*ck me. my bf estimate was way off, for arguments sake. i dont give a flying f*ck if my bf% is 25%, obvioulsy the point i was making went right over most of your heads and all you guys wanted to do was rip me a new one on a count of some number i threw out there, so when people come on here asking for advice on how to get a 6 pack, just keep saying "good abs are made in the kitchen", and see how many people come back in a few months frustrated that theyve dropped a lil bf, but still have no visible muscles.

miloman, its not about colories; granted, thats part of it, but you need to have the muscles there if you want to see them. if you just lose the fat, your abs will be flat, and the muscles wont be visible.

respawn demon, lets say i do have 14-15% bf - i dont care, cuz my abs are very well defined.

amusclehead, ive got better things to do than take my valuable time and spend my hard earned money to go get dunk tested just to appease some strangers over the internet over the accuracy of my bf%, of all things. maybe you should look up the definition of "estimate".

posner, im glad you love that i took a shot at estimated my bf%, cuz at least i'm attempting to make a valid point and youre just taking up bandwidth and wasting peoples' time.

nitsux, thats a valid point, but im aware of that.

jino, thanks for seeing my point.

hell, just look at what everyone told this kid before they knew anything about him...just look at the first reply to the original post here, and the only thing that kid can do to back up his ignorant comment is to take a shot at me for estimating bf%. i really hate the f*cking internet.

[MiloMan]

Originally posted by tbomb
its not about colories; granted, thats part of it

It is - but it isn't? How's that again? Of course you have to work them, like any other muscle, but you have to lose the fat to see them, no matter how big they are.

[TarvMan]

Originally posted by tbomb
jesus christ guys, so f*ck me. my bf estimate was way off, for arguments sake. i dont give a flying f*ck if my bf% is 25%, obvioulsy the point i was making went right over most of your heads and all you guys wanted to do was rip me a new one on a count of some number i threw out there, so when people come on here asking for advice on how to get a 6 pack, just keep saying "good abs are made in the kitchen", and see how many people come back in a few months frustrated that theyve dropped a lil bf, but still have no visible muscles.

miloman, its not about colories; granted, thats part of it, but you need to have the muscles there if you want to see them. if you just lose the fat, your abs will be flat, and the muscles wont be visible.

respawn demon, lets say i do have 14-15% bf - i dont care, cuz my abs are very well defined.

amusclehead, ive got better things to do than take my valuable time and spend my hard earned money to go get dunk tested just to appease some strangers over the internet over the accuracy of my bf%, of all things. maybe you should look up the definition of "estimate".

posner, im glad you love that i took a shot at estimated my bf%, cuz at least i'm attempting to make a valid point and youre just taking up bandwidth and wasting peoples' time.

nitsux, thats a valid point, but im aware of that.

jino, thanks for seeing my point.

hell, just look at what everyone told this kid before they knew anything about him...just look at the first reply to the original post here, and the only thing that kid can do to back up his ignorant comment is to take a shot at me for estimating bf%. i really hate the f*cking internet.

Bump

[xxndnromeoxx]

yes, ive heard its all about diet and cardio and i sure followed that, and i found out i was sculpting a pebble really. its really more about the workout if ure thin to begin with and have trouble putting on much fat. i think telling people to bulk while working out in the beginning will be a better idea to get a foundation set

[Douche_Nutz]

Originally posted by xxndnromeoxx
I am doubting the "working ure abs once a week" theory due to some personals that i have met. they told me their routine and it went against all laws of what getting to rock solid shape in ure midsection should be. in fact, they didnt do it once a week.. they did it .. once a day hitting upper and lower. they had a full six in 6 months. i did not believe it at first till i saw it with my own eyes. Since then i have been doing weight crunches twice a week and hitting the lower with reverse crunches and leg lifts. the only growth i had gotten was a bigger upper two pack, and all it looks like is two vertical lines down the midsection. the lower abs dont seem to be even appearing. so maybe now i might try out the once a day thing. i have heard some boxers do it too, and their abs are phenominally cut and good size. has anyone else tried the once a day thing? i know they say it helps to build endurance and strength and thats it but im starting to believe more then that, sometimes i guess personal experience beats out any article u read.. like people say different strokes for different folks. well i wil try it out. anyone thing otherwise?

Then do what you want.

[Posner]

tbomb,

Sorry for indirectly teasing you about estimating your bodyfat. I shouldn't assume everyone can take a joke.

I don't want to prompt another near incoherent rant from you, but I would suggest you were most correct when you said, "maybe the point i'm going to make is just too obvious, but i'll make it anyway... you have to have the muscle there if you want to see it."

Most correct, that is, about the "too obvious part". Just because most of the posters on this thread focused on lowering bf, doesn't mean they believe developing the muscle is unimportant.

Rather, bf was our focus because (1) Developing the muscle is *relatively* easy (2) the reason the vast majority of people cannot see their abs is because their bf is too high (3) people spend way to much energy trying to pick the perfect ab routine when their bodyfat is too high in the first place.

[Brinn]

From my experience, building the abs is the easy part. My bf% is around 12% according to the gold standard of looking-at-myself-in-the-mirror-while-I-brush-my-teeth. It took me all of a month of once a week ab work (without weights) for me to see a 4 pack and obliques. Cutting down so that I could see a 6 pack would take a lot more work than that. People that say that abs are made in kitchen are correct, at least in my case.

[Brinn]

And xxndnromeoxx, I'm willing to bet that you have the abs you want already. It's just covered up.

[Punch1546]

That was quite a large rant though. I was impressed at how he could be so angry, yet write a coherent paragraph about nothing. It must have taken him awhile to read over each post and write each guy a single rant paragraph. Well, I for one think Abs are boring and don't feel like training them everyday...so there. "Abs are made in the kitchen" hahahaha. "Abs are made in the kitchen" "Abs are made in the kitchen""Abs are made in the kitchen"

Obviously, you have to work them like any muscle, but if you're fat then you'll never see them. But keep on workin those Abs man! You'll see them some day!

Budweiser salutes you Mr. Weight room Ab machine hogger.

lol

6'2 240 (cutting)

[tbomb]

Originally posted by Posner
tbomb,

Sorry for indirectly teasing you about estimating your bodyfat. I shouldn't assume everyone can take a joke.

I don't want to prompt another near incoherent rant from you, but I would suggest you were most correct when you said, "maybe the point i'm going to make is just too obvious, but i'll make it anyway... you have to have the muscle there if you want to see it."

Most correct, that is, about the "too obvious part". Just because most of the posters on this thread focused on lowering bf, doesn't mean they believe developing the muscle is unimportant.

Rather, bf was our focus because (1) Developing the muscle is *relatively* easy (2) the reason the vast majority of people cannot see their abs is because their bf is too high (3) people spend way to much energy trying to pick the perfect ab routine when their bodyfat is too high in the first place.

#1 - you shouldnt assume that im gonna laugh at a joke geared directly at me.

#2 - my "rant" was more than coherent for people who have a comprehensive grasp of the english language.

#3 - my point may have been too obvious, but if it were that obvious, wouldnt everyone have great abs? and why would people have to come on here and ask questions about how to acheive them? if its so obvious? a lot of people, myself included, who fall under the "ectomorph" classification dont necessarily have to fight fat, but need to bulk the underlying muscles. for a long time i did TONS of reps and watched my diet to try to get good abs cuz i didnt know any better; i didnt actually get them until i started eating like a horse and exercising my abs with heavy weight (which you should probably do anyway if you want abs...the exercising with weight, i mean.) even the average overweight guy off the street who comes on and asks about good abs has to be given some basis for where to start.

#4 - and since when is developing muscle "relatively" easy? granted the magical formula is no secret, but its hard work, espeically int he abdominal area.

#5 - i dont think people spend too much time picking the "right" ab routine, i think they spend too much time working their abs incorrectly for what their goals are.

the next time someone asks advice, you might wanna learn a lil more about the person so you dont give more incomplete advice. if someone asked you how to drive a car, would you just tell him about the pedals, or you would fill him about the steering wheel, too?

at this point, the information is there, i'm not gonna waste anymore time arguing. sorry to the person who started this thread and probably didnt get too much out of it.

[Punch1546]

Quit being so angry. You act like he said something about your mother. They told him what he needed to know. I'm sure he'll have rock solid abs ina month. jeez. What is a T-bomb anyway? Is that short for time bomb, like ur gonna go off at any second? Freak out if you will.

Lets' all just calm down and communicate with each other about our abs. I'll start.....

Right now, my abs are saying, "Do more squats!!! Screw crunches!! Abs are mad in the kitchen!!!"

hahahahahahahaha

tbomb you so craazay

[nykwan]

Way back, I used to do crunches everyday in highschool. I only weighed ~115-120lbs soaking wet, so I was skinny. I never saw the sixpack and I couldn't understand cause I was so skinny.
Later in college, I only did crunches maybe once a week - maybe. But eventually I ended up with a sixpack. Why? Because I actually lost the fat around the midsection.

I learned that many people think they are skinny and should see their abs. They pinch little in the arms and maybe chest. BUT, they fail to understand (like I once did) that just because you are skinny doesn't mean that you don't have fat around the midsection. That's the first place it goes on for males and the last place to come off. I had skinny everything and could only literally pinch skin on my arms and chest, etc, but there was more to pinch around the belly button area - enough to cover my abs. It was only when I was pinching a lot less around the belly button area, did the abs look good. So I think your friends did lose fat overall while working on the abs at the same time.

If someone works the abs a lot, and has big ab muscles but a so so diet, you may see the abs just because they 'stick out' more and you may see the lines through the thicker skin. But it just looks OK to above average. And a person who doesn't work abs at all may see abs if he has less fat around the midsection. But again, I think it just looks OK to above average.
But a person who works his abs AND has very little fat around the midsection has AWESOME abs.

[idiotsavant]

Actually both sides are correct. If you are a larger person then ab definition depends on your diet and cardio because bodyfat will prevent the abs from being visible. However if you are a skinny guy like me and have 10% bodyfat when bulking you need to put in the time doing weighted ab work to get those abs showing.

[gymrat832003]

this whole argument goes to show that you can't expect just to be able to see your abs all of a sudden. you have to bulk up first, then cut. otherwise it will be an up hill struggle trying to gain muscle and lose fat around your midsection. true, some people can see their abs by doing some situps but they already had low bodyfat. my advice for you would be to gain weight and bulk then worry later about cutting and being able to see your abs. it does take some time and patience.

[zall]

God the amount of $hit you hear floating around, this myth will never die,

Q. What are abs made of?

A. Muscle

Q. What are your quads made of?

A. Muscle

Q. Do you squat everyday?

A. No

[Punch1546]

"God the amount of $hit you hear floating around, this myth will never die,"


Don't be a tool. Like you are soooo inteligente. Again, we have another person stating the obvious. Of course your Abs are made of muscle. You may have to work them you may not. The old school muscle guys preferred under developed abs. So, do what you want. Who squats everyday??? Don't be an ass.

[Douche_Nutz]

Originally posted by Punch1546
"God the amount of $hit you hear floating around, this myth will never die,"


Don't be a tool. Like you are soooo inteligente. Again, we have another person stating the obvious. Of course your Abs are made of muscle. You may have to work them you may not. The old school muscle guys preferred under developed abs. So, do what you want. Who squats everyday??? Don't be an ass.

What? There was nothing wrong with his post...