How many times a week can you train abs?

[cipolla1953]

How many times a week can you train abs? Also can you train abs twince a day? Thanks

[Jay Bisto]

different views from different people,

Arnold said 6 times a week, but he was high volume,

to be honest I dont train them on specific days, just whenever I feel like it, when I start cutting for the summer though I would say ima do them three times a week probably.

Someone will probably tell you less though.

More than the exercises though for abs watch your diet

[whiplash]

3 times a week for me. diet is just as important for abs

[Dia-Tribe]

4 times a week for my abs.
Diet and cardio does the rest

[2pounds]

every other day

[Flick]

Once a week, and sometimes twice.

[Stinker]

How many times a week can you train abs? Also can you train abs twince a day? Thanks

You can train them every day depending on how you split them up. Train upper and obliques one day, lower and transverse the next day and you can easilly go 6 sessions a week.

[Getsum]

I do ab work 4 to 6 times per week using a wide range of different exercises.

[Dirk D.]

It depends how you train them. Of course if you train them with high reps and lots of sets in an unintense fashion, you can probably train them everyday. I doubt that will give you muscluar abdominals though. Besides, if you want to see what you do have, you have to strip the bodyfat off. Doing high reps and lots of sets is a left over from the spot-reduction days, which we know is false.

If you train them hard and heavy like your other muscles, like you should for actual ab development, then you've gotta treat it like any other muscle group. I know, for example, after an intense ab session, my abdominals are usually sore for about 2-3 days afterwards. Not that soreness is an indication of muscle growth, but I would be foolish to train again too soon after that kind of exercise.

I just don't see how someone could train their abs 3 times a week if they were giving them a proper hit, and not just doing marathon crunches and leg raises, etc. I mean, if you can train abs so often with high reps, and this is supposed to lead to ab development, why not do the same for your other muscle groups? Four sets of 50 on the flat bench for chest. Ridiculous. And if you're doing abs so often to strip away bodyfat, then you're falling into the old spot-reduction myth. I just don't see it, and nobody's been able to tell me why they train their abs the way they do. If someone could enlighten me, I'd love to find out.

Cheers,
Dirk

[platinumike]

Id do 4x a week. Abs rejuvinate very quickly, and there are so many excersices you can do on each part of your abs.

[IrishBuck23]

I go 4 days a weeks, going 2 on then 1 off, then 2 on and 2 off

[quickquestion]

Working out your abs is the least important thing for getting defined abs

[Frink_]

Working out your abs is the least important thing for getting defined abs

Well...your bodytype has a lot to say. If you're an endomorph, It's not easy to get a sixpack if you just have a thin sheet of abs like ectos have. But all in all, I agree with you that diet is more important to get visible abs.

Anyways, there are many ways to work the abs and get that sixpack... I train them realy realy heavy with weights once a week just like any other muscle group. They get worked indirectly during bent rows, squats and deadlifts anyways, so more than one ab-day isn't needed in my oppininon.

[double gonad]

It depends how you train them. Of course if you train them with high reps and lots of sets in an unintense fashion, you can probably train them everyday. I doubt that will give you muscluar abdominals though. Besides, if you want to see what you do have, you have to strip the bodyfat off. Doing high reps and lots of sets is a left over from the spot-reduction days, which we know is false.

If you train them hard and heavy like your other muscles, like you should for actual ab development, then you've gotta treat it like any other muscle group. I know, for example, after an intense ab session, my abdominals are usually sore for about 2-3 days afterwards. Not that soreness is an indication of muscle growth, but I would be foolish to train again too soon after that kind of exercise.

I just don't see how someone could train their abs 3 times a week if they were giving them a proper hit, and not just doing marathon crunches and leg raises, etc. I mean, if you can train abs so often with high reps, and this is supposed to lead to ab development, why not do the same for your other muscle groups? Four sets of 50 on the flat bench for chest. Ridiculous. And if you're doing abs so often to strip away bodyfat, then you're falling into the old spot-reduction myth. I just don't see it, and nobody's been able to tell me why they train their abs the way they do. If someone could enlighten me, I'd love to find out.

Cheers,
Dirk

I could not agree more with this post. I have trained abs with no weight, lots of reps and frequent (every other day) training and with weight, low reps and infrequent (1-2 times per week) training. I can tell you that my body reacted very well to training abs like any other muscle, with heavy weight, low reps and low frequency. In fact, my bf% is not that low but my abs have developed enough to where I can see them pretty well. I can't wait to finish my cut and see what they look like with a very small amount of fat on them. There is NO way I would have the abs that I do now if I had not switched to training them like I do the rest of my muscles.

[Hoops]

Yeah I used to work them 4-6 days a week and I got NOTHING out of it. Lift hard, heavey and iwth low reps if you wanna see results.

[duhfewcha6]

You CAN work out your abs every day, abs and calves are the ONLY muscles that you can do that for. Main reason for that is, your abs are always working, the hold you up straight and your calves as well because you walk on them all day. Many people might now now this and despite my rep rating. this is a fact...yet I only work them out 3-4 times a week...but if you want to cut cut in that area then cardio is the answer

[Dirk D.]

You CAN work out your abs every day, abs and calves are the ONLY muscles that you can do that for. Main reason for that is, your abs are always working, the hold you up straight and your calves as well because you walk on them all day. Many people might now now this and despite my rep rating. this is a fact...yet I only work them out 3-4 times a week...but if you want to cut cut in that area then cardio is the answer

This is horrible reasoning.

Of course you "can" work them every day. I "can" work everything everyday. Just because I "can" do something doesn't mean I should. The point is not to find out what you "can" do, or to find out how much exercise you can tollerate, it's to find out the precise amount at a given time that you require for maximum results. I "can" train my abs, calves, quads, neck, etc., every day, but that doesn't mean I should, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'll get better results by doing so.

The point is to progress at the fastest rate possible by the most efficient manner at a given time, not to find out how much exercise you "can" do without killing yourself.

And what about the quads, hams, and glutes? I stand on them all day. And my lower back keeps me upright all day. My shoulders act whenevery I move, carry, push, lift, hold, etc. My bis are constantly involved when I carry anything. Your muscles are always working to some degree all day, not just those you've mentioned. This is a fact. So, by your reasoning then, we should work all our muscles as often as possible, because they're being used all the time anyway....

Dirk

[cipolla1953]

Yeah thanks, I train my abs every day or every other day, I assuming that you dont use your abs like you would other body parts you could train that body part more, How do I find out what my body type is? Agian Thanks

[duhfewcha6]

This is horrible reasoning.

Of course you "can" work them every day. I "can" work everything everyday. Just because I "can" do something doesn't mean I should. The point is not to find out what you "can" do, or to find out how much exercise you can tollerate, it's to find out the precise amount at a given time that you require for maximum results. I "can" train my abs, calves, quads, neck, etc., every day, but that doesn't mean I should, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'll get better results by doing so.

The point is to progress at the fastest rate possible by the most efficient manner at a given time, not to find out how much exercise you "can" do without killing yourself.

And what about the quads, hams, and glutes? I stand on them all day. And my lower back keeps me upright all day. My shoulders act whenevery I move, carry, push, lift, hold, etc. My bis are constantly involved when I carry anything. Your muscles are always working to some degree all day, not just those you've mentioned. This is a fact. So, by your reasoning then, we should work all our muscles as often as possible, because they're being used all the time anyway....

Dirk

you are missing the whole point and emphasizing "can" way more than it should be. Your body "CAN" tolerate your abs being worked every day just like your calves, simple as that. Every other body part "CANNOT." Some people in here get so defensive, I'm assuming you have a masters in exercise biology as well? ok then...

[madball]

Four sets of 50 on the flat bench for chest. Ridiculous.

Damn straight. That's a great comparison.

[cipolla1953]

Well acording to Paul Delia founder of AST Sports Science
Once a week is plenty...Here is the article below...

http://www.ast-ss.com/dev/qa_search/...ext.asp?ID=119