The best rep range for Abs

[M1STAT1NG1111]

whats the best rep range for for Ab growth? so for i think its 25, 15, 12, 10?

[Matthew31]

8-10 at 75-85% 1RM. If you can't find a comfortable way of doing that, add as much weight as you can, and emphasize the negative and positive portions of the exercise (eccentric/concentric).

Too many reps does not build the ab muscles.

[chuckno]

if you want them to grow work them out just like any other muscle ........ with wieghts 8 - 12 reps.

[TrainSmarter]

Case #1: High Reps vs. Low Reps with Resistance

The Plaintiffs ? High rep proponents: These individuals make the argument that abdominals, being postural muscles, are predominantly slow twitch. As a result, they'd be better suited for work of long duration at a low intensity.

High rep proponents also argue that since the ab muscles are activated almost all day long, they're built to handle a lot of training volume. Most of the time they recommend performing unloaded (non-weighted) sets of basic ab exercises, generally doing at least 15 reps per set and sometimes up to 50-plus reps.

The Defendants ? Low reps with added resistance proponents: According to this school of thought, muscle tissue is muscle tissue. The abs are no different than any other muscle group in the body and should be trained accordingly.

This group sneers at the supposed slow twitch dominance of the abs, arguing that even slow twitch fibers have the potential to hypertrophy and should still be trained in a hypertrophy-friendly zone. Their recommendation is to train the abs just like any other muscle group: if you want more abdominal definition you must hypertrophy them, and that requires work in the 6-12 rep range with added resistance.

Loaded crunch on Swiss ball

The Verdict: Both camps have valid arguments. It?s true that muscle tissue is muscle tissue and if you want to hypertrophy your abs, you must respect the overload principle. At some point that'll require using added resistance.

A lot of people cringe when they hear "abdominal" and "hypertrophy" in the same sentence: they think that this necessarily means making their waist thick and blocky. Not so! In fact, if you want maximum abdominal definition, you must hypertrophy them! That?s what will cause the contrast between the muscle bellies and the linea alba, which will give you that six-pack look.

On the other hand, EMG research has shown that unloaded exercises such as the crunch, reverse crunch, V-sit, and crunch with a twist all activate the ab muscles to at least 60% of their maximum capacity, with a high point of 75% for some exercises. This is a sufficient hypertrophy threshold for beginners and even for intermediate trainees.


The verdict is that both types of work (loaded and unloaded) should be part of your ab training program. With loaded exercises you should train in the upper portion of the hypertrophy zone which is 10-12 reps. Beginners should use mostly unloaded slow movements and intermediates should use an equal mix of both. Finally, advanced trainees should use a ratio of two loaded exercises for one unloaded exercise.


http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=568934

[Dominik]

whats the best rep range for for Ab growth? so for i think its 25, 15, 12, 10?

All you need to know.

[Defiant1]

Case #1: High Reps vs. Low Reps with Resistance

The Plaintiffs ? High rep proponents: These individuals make the argument that abdominals, being postural muscles, are predominantly slow twitch. As a result, they'd be better suited for work of long duration at a low intensity.

High rep proponents also argue that since the ab muscles are activated almost all day long, they're built to handle a lot of training volume. Most of the time they recommend performing unloaded (non-weighted) sets of basic ab exercises, generally doing at least 15 reps per set and sometimes up to 50-plus reps.

The Defendants ? Low reps with added resistance proponents: According to this school of thought, muscle tissue is muscle tissue. The abs are no different than any other muscle group in the body and should be trained accordingly.

This group sneers at the supposed slow twitch dominance of the abs, arguing that even slow twitch fibers have the potential to hypertrophy and should still be trained in a hypertrophy-friendly zone. Their recommendation is to train the abs just like any other muscle group: if you want more abdominal definition you must hypertrophy them, and that requires work in the 6-12 rep range with added resistance.

Loaded crunch on Swiss ball

The Verdict: Both camps have valid arguments. It?s true that muscle tissue is muscle tissue and if you want to hypertrophy your abs, you must respect the overload principle. At some point that'll require using added resistance.

A lot of people cringe when they hear "abdominal" and "hypertrophy" in the same sentence: they think that this necessarily means making their waist thick and blocky. Not so! In fact, if you want maximum abdominal definition, you must hypertrophy them! That?s what will cause the contrast between the muscle bellies and the linea alba, which will give you that six-pack look.

On the other hand, EMG research has shown that unloaded exercises such as the crunch, reverse crunch, V-sit, and crunch with a twist all activate the ab muscles to at least 60% of their maximum capacity, with a high point of 75% for some exercises. This is a sufficient hypertrophy threshold for beginners and even for intermediate trainees.


The verdict is that both types of work (loaded and unloaded) should be part of your ab training program. With loaded exercises you should train in the upper portion of the hypertrophy zone which is 10-12 reps. Beginners should use mostly unloaded slow movements and intermediates should use an equal mix of both. Finally, advanced trainees should use a ratio of two loaded exercises for one unloaded exercise.


http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=568934

But which one is best. Ya know, for growth.

[Matthew31]

Girls do mad crunches in the hope of forming the thinnest sleekest muscle silhouette possible.

Slow-twitch muscle is preferential with the abs. But the type II that is there will not develop unless it is under resistance. Your waist is going to be 30-odd inches anyways, add an extra inch of hypertrophied abs and it will look better than nothing at all, and it will allow you to have a six-pack with a higher percentage bodyfat.

[SkweRLy]

I do a lot high rep unloaded. I have noticed a great solid feel to my ab muscle, and a lot more endurance has come into play with them. recently I have slowly started upping my reps and I have been feeling more tension and growth. The only thing is I need to lose the fat to show the "pop" of the muscles. I can't say that it will work for everyone, but it's what I do.