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Abs. How often and srious
- Thread starter gstacker
- Start date
Let me guess your asking the chubbier guys to see if theres anyway u can get abs to show through with minimal cutting? yah thats what I wanna do too lol.
Im 18% bf, and ultimately I wanna be 12-15% all year round. Anyways I hit abs once or twice a week usually, I make sure I hit them once a week and if Im feeling like it or finish my workout early I hit them again, 5-20 rep range. I have only just started doing this though.
My favourite exercises for the core are-
weighted decline situps
decline situps
needsize abs
hanging leg raise
weighted side bends
farmers walks
45 degree hypers
and I will usually do abs after squat or deadlift day, but sometimes its on my OHP or bench days. And about 9 sets, example would be 3 sets weighted declines, 3 sets hanging leg raises, 3 sets weighted side bends.
You can see my upper abs if I flex them, and in the morning if Iv not had much milk or cheese for a while before and so Im now bloated u can see the outline of my upper abs when relaxed, not like the lines that go between them to make the "pack" but the ouline on the outside of them if you get me
Im 18% bf, and ultimately I wanna be 12-15% all year round. Anyways I hit abs once or twice a week usually, I make sure I hit them once a week and if Im feeling like it or finish my workout early I hit them again, 5-20 rep range. I have only just started doing this though.
My favourite exercises for the core are-
weighted decline situps
decline situps
needsize abs
hanging leg raise
weighted side bends
farmers walks
45 degree hypers
and I will usually do abs after squat or deadlift day, but sometimes its on my OHP or bench days. And about 9 sets, example would be 3 sets weighted declines, 3 sets hanging leg raises, 3 sets weighted side bends.
You can see my upper abs if I flex them, and in the morning if Iv not had much milk or cheese for a while before and so Im now bloated u can see the outline of my upper abs when relaxed, not like the lines that go between them to make the "pack" but the ouline on the outside of them if you get me
training is very serious. abs....never.
gstacker
New member
Ya em last time I got in a water tank I was 18% and my abs show just like you discribed, I know I won't get a 6 pack untill I drop bf down but when I do drop I want my abs to be there... Honestly I hardly ever train abs, every once in awhile I'll do some leg rises or crunches.. So I want to step it up but I've heard conflicting advise... Some say it's like any other muscle and train them once maybe twice a week... Others say train em every day???
So burnthiscorpse your heavy compounds I'm sure keeps your core strength up to par... Is your bf low? Or do your abs show?
So burnthiscorpse your heavy compounds I'm sure keeps your core strength up to par... Is your bf low? Or do your abs show?
yes, no, no.
i can see the top 4 when i flex them. My BF%...i dunno really. 18% maybe.
I used to work abs all the time. Then I read that Lou Ferrigno NEVER trained abs. Where as Arnold did them constantly. Looking at the two of them you could never say one did and one never did. Every movement your body makes hits your abs in some way basically. I find them to be a waste of my time. Just like doing forearms. If you do real heavy pulls in some fashion then your forearms will grow.
I suppose if I were below 10% ever again I would do abs to try and get some more growth out of them. Still never catch me doing forearms though
i was 3-point caliper tested at 9.5%... but i'd guess im honestly closer to 11%... i have pretty decent abs in the morning, but once i start eating they do fade a bit, but i can always flex and find the six (before eating can slightly see the bottom 7 & 8)...
however... i dont do ANY ab-specific excersise... 90% of my lifting is heavy compound... the only core-specific work i do would be goodmornings...
i have no desire to start doing them...
oh, also i failed a bench a few years ago with 200ish on the bar... and was able to sit up with it on top of me... if that counts for ab work then im in...
however... i dont do ANY ab-specific excersise... 90% of my lifting is heavy compound... the only core-specific work i do would be goodmornings...
i have no desire to start doing them...
oh, also i failed a bench a few years ago with 200ish on the bar... and was able to sit up with it on top of me... if that counts for ab work then im in...
that happens to me lol, i read a thread about ab training and im fired up to hit them hard, after a week or so i loose interest and find it boring again lol
gstacker
New member
Lol...
I tried to give you some karma but I got the message that I gave out to much karma in 24 hours??? Call me "new money" made my first mill and I'm going crazy with it haha... Hit u later
you already hit me bro, yeah i hate it when u go over the 24 hour limit, seriously what is the point on putting a limit on karma hits lol
Rarely. I hate abs. WHy would I do abs if im already ripped lol. jk but seriously Its all about bf%. Everyone has abs. Now if you want them to be strong and show when you lose bf%, you can add in some heavy ab work. 10-15 rep range
I dont work abs because I dont want them to get bigger, they almost stick out more than my chest, so i just do maitenance work.
I dont work abs because I dont want them to get bigger, they almost stick out more than my chest, so i just do maitenance work.
CitizenKane
New member
I usually throw in a few sets of Leg Raises or something similar at the end of each workout but I find my abs get hit bloody hard from squatting, deads and OH press as it is. Can't see them though because I'm around 18% bf, can't wait to cut!
kx250rider
New member
I do a quick ab routine every day, 7 days a week. I do that because I don't want size; big abs look like a pot through a shirt. I want them fine-cut, and rock-hard. I alternate among several routines..... Vertical crunches; 15-20 reps x3 or 4 sets, flat roman chair situps, 25-50 reps x 1 set, added to a fundamental 150 standard slow speed crunches plus 100 side crunches each side. So that's a total of 400-450 reps daily, and never any added resistance. I don't slack, or take a vacation from it! That doesn't work. I'm at a solid 15 years at 365 days, discount maybe 5 days/year for sickness or emergencies. Guys I see who train abs on machines or do crunches with plates, get big thick abs that look good if you're going to compete in a building contest, but it just looks like a big fat belly under a shirt. I'm 5.3% bf (last time accurately measured earlier this year), and I'm fairly close to where I want to be. My license number is 6PAK ABZ, so I have to keep up the work, or become a liar....
Charles
Charles
JDid23
New member
what do you do for abs? i usually do boring ass declines supersetted with leg raises but i think i am going to work abs twice a week starting soon- looking for some good ideas
I disagree on the genetics part - I think that's just an excuse for being too lazy yo do some midsection work
Diet has a lot to do with it...and you don't need to do 1500 setups a day to get some good abs
I do em twice a week...I'll post a picture soon, maybe after I finish bulking
Diet has a lot to do with it...and you don't need to do 1500 setups a day to get some good abs
I do em twice a week...I'll post a picture soon, maybe after I finish bulking
gstacker
New member
How many excersises sets n reps?
I don't really count it that way, when I feel I did enough, I stop...you can't really overtrain abs IMO
that doesnt make sense you can overtrain any muscle
but if youre saying it in a sense for them to show, then not really since abs are pretty much all diet and low bf%.
You can overtrain them though. If you kept going heavier and heavier and couldnt progress youd be overtraining them
I do not believe you can overtrain abs, forearms or calves, but that's just me.
You almost use these muscle with everything that you do...so they're always under constant stress, and they don't really get overtrained IMO
And abs are not just about bf% and diet, it's a muscle just like any other muscle and needs to be trained...
I guess it's just you. There is no physiological difference, muscle is muscle. If they are always under stress why would we need to train them?
If you want to see abs then you dont need to work them. If you want to have functional strength then yea you should.
ArmaniAK47
New member
Dude I've gotta tell ya..
I was 14 when I got into lifting.. a little chubby still.. I trained for 6 months doing only a little abs like many of the people above..
I got in a "blitz class" (weight machines, intervals.. hit cardio.. abs..) and the guy kicked our ass.. made us do TONS of abs..
I then began to grow rather nicely.. I got to the point of enjoying abs.. (not like me..)
I was to the point finally I could do hours of abs at a time, several times per week..
I wasn't anywhere near ripped.. but you could see a 6 pack through my underarmour shirts easily..
They really shine if you put a ton of work into them.
I was 14 when I got into lifting.. a little chubby still.. I trained for 6 months doing only a little abs like many of the people above..
I got in a "blitz class" (weight machines, intervals.. hit cardio.. abs..) and the guy kicked our ass.. made us do TONS of abs..
I then began to grow rather nicely.. I got to the point of enjoying abs.. (not like me..)
I was to the point finally I could do hours of abs at a time, several times per week..
I wasn't anywhere near ripped.. but you could see a 6 pack through my underarmour shirts easily..
They really shine if you put a ton of work into them.
legendz
New member
Lately, I've been doing light ab work once a week, after chest and triceps. It's mainly to help them stay strong, since I feel that using heavy weights on the abs, like any other muscle, will make them grow larger, which isn't really what I'm looking for. Usually anywhere from 3 to 6 sets in total, with high reps (20 to 30) per set. Incline crunches (body weight only) are the mainstay, but I may also do cable crunches, leg raises (body weight only, for the lower abs) or even the ab machine.
lol dude you cant overtrain abs...seriously stop saying that lmao
look at people who do martial arts ...they do abs daily for hours and they have perfect abs....when i did martial arts i used to do em for hours and they were perfect you cant overtrain abs man....
show me some scientific evidence that you can overtrain abs seriously....i havent seen it
i guess my point on the genetics part was that some people can show abs at a higher bf% than others.
yes, I agree with that to a certain extent, because of skin type mostly and vascularity.
Some scientific evidence? Seriously lol. Ok yea they do abs for hours, thousands of reps. You can do that with any muscle, but if you did hanging leg raises for instance, and you did 20. If you hammered them every fuckin day you think youll keep getting more and more? If that was the case, since abs are a muscle like every other muscle, why dont we do that for arms chest back etc?
The reason mma fighters have abs is because they have low bf%. Just because you can see a muscle doesnt mean its not overtrained. Wtf is that? When i say overtrain im talking about strength/size. What do you think i mean when i say overtrain, that theyll turn into flop? fuckin A
Forget it im not gonna argue with you about this its fuckin retarded.
wow lots of differant theories about training abs on here. My idea is if you can get down to a low bodypart percentage and maintain it, and your abs are showing through and your happy with their thickness/size then go ahead and dont train them, besides they get trained with squats, deads, bent rows and OHP. If you cant maintain such a low bf, you want a strong core or you want thicker abs then go ahead and train them.
But finding the right way to train them could differ with everybody.
But finding the right way to train them could differ with everybody.
gstacker
New member
Well all i know is I do all the major compounds and my uppers show at 18% I do t think training them more will get them to show more at that % but I want to train them more and drop bf... And since I've been hitting them I feel a tightness that's telling me there getting more developed.... Hm
m Ima go bust out some leg rises right now on this exersise ball lol if anything I'm burning calories lol
m Ima go bust out some leg rises right now on this exersise ball lol if anything I'm burning calories lol
ConanX
Banned
When I lay off of abs, they seem to fade. WIthin a week of ab work, they pop out again. I only do a few sets on a weighted crunch machine thingy.
When I was on Tren, I was eating a ton of calories, yet my abs were popping out more than ever. It wasn't my bf levels either, just for some reason the abs were popping out. They were also bigger than normal.
When I was on Tren, I was eating a ton of calories, yet my abs were popping out more than ever. It wasn't my bf levels either, just for some reason the abs were popping out. They were also bigger than normal.
fuck why does everyone relate everything to arnold. Seriously that guy has spread some BS imo, I once read something saying his chest workout was 20 sets of flat presses 20 sets of incline presses and 20 sets of flat flies. wtf
CitizenKane
New member
Is it a possibility that they were just pumped up more often due to training them more often?
Tblock1
New member
Well it's true though he did train forearms, calves, and abs everyday. Doesn't mean anyone else should though.... Was that quote about his chets workout per week? Cause I've been doing 31 sets of bench a week for a while...
gstacker
New member
Well.... Hmmmm lol after the first couple mr olimpias I think people started to relate things to him lol... He doesn't drink milk either and he smokes pot and parks his car wherever he wants and rides a motorcycle with no license.... Who gives a shit lol
anyways should of made this a poll, I new there would be disagrements hmmm. Can I still make this a poll??
Do you find it challenging having an intelligent argument or discussion without using terms like "fuckin retarded?"
Abs can't be overtrained because no one really tries to grow abs like they grow biceps or chest...bodybuilders dont try to GROW abs and add size to them, they try to make them look good, get them shredded, etc....thats why they cant overtrain them.....
I gave you a simple example because ive been doing martial arts all my life....you cant overtrain abs...look at gymnasts, martial artists....some of them have shit BF% but they still workout their core for hours....
so whats the question here? You keep talking about the visible aspect of abs. Anyone can be skinny and have abs. But if you wanted them to get stronger like any other muscle then yes you could overtrain them.
So why train abs? To make your core strength good. Well how do you get stronger? Lower reps. So yea you cant keep getting stronger everyday at abs eventually youll plateau like any other muscle.
Im done
the reason most people train abs is because they're asthetically pleasing and they look good....training abs for strength is the most rediculous thing i've heard...
Please ask how many powerlifters here train abs on a regular bases....you get core strength doing heavy squats and deadlifts because of constant strength on your core...lol @ training abs for strength
Come on dude, you and I both know that people train abs to look good...you're telling me you want to do lower reps on abs and not train em so much so they can GROW and get strong?? it's not a large muscle group like your back or legs or even small muscle like ur biceps, it's your midsection.
i have to disagree with the bit about PLers, lots of PLers and strongmen train abs for core strength, even Konstantinovs trains his core for strength and he's ranked number 1 raw deadlifter in the world
kx250rider
New member
I had a good example yesterday... Some dude I knew a long time ago, was into lifting & kickboxing... He got out of shape, and is jealous I guess. I almost didn't recognize him yesterday, until he recognized me and gave me a "friendly" belly punch as he walked by.... He about hurt his hand! Luckily, I've been working my abs hard lately, so I barely felt it, despite the fact I didn't see it coming, and wasn't even ready! That would have doubled me over if my abs were all out of shape. Now he's jealous with a sore hand
Charles
LOLOLOLOLOLOL.....I dont train any one of those 3.
The only reason I could see for training abs is being a fighter of some type.
My calves are large and nicely proportioned to my legs. Besides if i trained them directly they would knot up so bad the next day I wouldnt be able to walk.
Training forearms =
Training forearms =
so u dont want big forearms? what is girly about farmers walk and being able to double overhand your sets of shrugs and deadlifts without straps? I have big forearms and I think they look sick...
Tblock1
New member
Same here I think big forearms look cooler than any other muscle. However I think the reason for the pink elephant is that he believes your forearms already get worked enough, they don't need their own work in his opinion (just guessing here).
Bingo
Deads, cleans, and pretty much everything else for that matter will work your forearms. Unless you have genetically girly ones I see no reason to work them directly.
Arnold trained his forearms, abs and calves almost on a daily basis....I guess he doesnt know what he's talking about though
He knows what hes talking about if your breakfast includes 100mg dbols and your lunch is 2g primo
gstacker
New member
Yo glad read futures new post on deads, half way down a power lifter recomends training abbs 6days a week he's 63yo and pulls 700lbs so ya
lol i guess if you want to be a PL and pull 700lbs then ya u should train abs a lot. I got sick abs so dont listen to anything i say
are you discrediting arnold because he's on the juice?
right so discredit everyone on this board and all the pros like ronnie and jay cutler and branch warren too...cause you're the only one who knows what they're talking about...that's just arrogant man, but that's cool...
let's just agree to disagree shall we?
Tblock1
New member
Yeah you better disregard yourself too gladiator because you're on the juice so I can't believe anything you say. And dude you need to stop bragging about your abs they're better than mine right now but they're not that great...
lol close this thread, ELE
"everybody love everybody"
"everybody love everybody"
Lou ferrigno never worked abs. But then lou never accomplished what Arnold did. I dont think thats due to ab training though.
I get enough ab and forearm work from core movements. But then again I'm not trying to compete in the BB'ing world. But those of you who want to bust ass on forearms and abs, have at it guys.
ArmaniAK47
New member
Lot's of really big guys always say your forearms get worked by doing normal workouts..
yet- so do your triceps and biceps.. and shoulders.. and calves, and abs!
why do any of those?
just deadlift, squat and bench!
No.. not for me.. I do grow with normal compound movements.. but I show much better with a lot of effort on specific isolation..
Overtraining could be an issue sometimes, or tendonitis.. but I still think if you did some specific forearm stuff they'd be better than if you didn't.
yet- so do your triceps and biceps.. and shoulders.. and calves, and abs!
why do any of those?
just deadlift, squat and bench!
No.. not for me.. I do grow with normal compound movements.. but I show much better with a lot of effort on specific isolation..
Overtraining could be an issue sometimes, or tendonitis.. but I still think if you did some specific forearm stuff they'd be better than if you didn't.
Scotsman
New member
I do one day a week with some direct ab work usually 3-4 sets. One week I do my "light" phase the next week I do my "heavy" phase. I do between 8 and 10 reps in each set. Used to do two days a week where I did one heavy and one light but with all the squatting, deadlifting, overhead pressing and various event training I do it was too much. I also don't give two shits if my abs are visible or not (currently not) the only reason I train them directly is for more core stability.
Of course what do I know I'm just one of those "Fat powerlifters".
Cheers,
Scotsman
Of course what do I know I'm just one of those "Fat powerlifters".
Cheers,
Scotsman
I do one day a week with some direct ab work usually 3-4 sets. One week I do my "light" phase the next week I do my "heavy" phase. I do between 8 and 10 reps in each set. Used to do two days a week where I did one heavy and one light but with all the squatting, deadlifting, overhead pressing and various event training I do it was too much. I also don't give two shits if my abs are visible or not (currently not) the only reason I train them directly is for more core stability.
Of course what do I know I'm just one of those "Fat powerlifters".
Cheers,
Scotsman
Who cares if you're overweight...when you're deadlifting trains, no one's going to be laughing bro
Scotsman
New member
Overweight is a very subjective term, to me I'm still underweight for where I want to be. My comment was purely facetious in nature. I just love how some people on this forum think that not being lean is some horrible disease. Anyone who wants to come train with me for a week and do my weights then has the right to judge my physique until then I just laugh at their comments.
Cheers,
Scotsman
I would love to be alot leaner than I am right now(273) But fuck it, I'm shooting for 300 over the winter.
gstacker
New member
ok i been hittin em 4-5 times a week since i started the thread, like i said im not very lean 18%bf last time i checked but i can deff tell a difference under the layer of fat i can feel my abbs there harder than when i was jus doing compund lifts an lil abb work...they dont get sore or feel weak from training them often they just feel and look stronger so in my opinion is to train them often....lotta work ahead but im lookin forward to seeing those lower abbs
ok i been hittin em 4-5 times a week since i started the thread, like i said im not very lean 18%bf last time i checked but i can deff tell a difference under the layer of fat i can feel my abbs there harder than when i was jus doing compund lifts an lil abb work...they dont get sore or feel weak from training them often they just feel and look stronger so in my opinion is to train them often....lotta work ahead but im lookin forward to seeing those lower abbs
your less than 18% bro, when i was my leanest and least bloated when i wasnt drinking milk and was doin lots of cardio and shit you could see my top 4 abs when i tensed them, and you could see the outline of the block of abs if you know what i mean. Like you couldnt see the lines that go between them to seperate it into a pack but the line around the edge so i guess it looked like 1 big muscle. So I think your less than 18% lol. how much did your abs show before you were hittin them this often?
gstacker
New member
Look in my profile pic the one with a photo shopped beard, that picture was taken within 1-2 days the last time I checked my bf in a watter tank and I was 18% back then, I guessed I was 15% but nope... Some trainer at 24 calipered me at 30% but obviously he wasn't to good with the calipers.... Doing abb work often motivates me to keep tight on my diet, burns calories an makes my core stronger... Should of been doin this a long time ago. I've been trying to make time to get my bf rechecked as soon as I do I'll post up exactly were I'm at with it
gstacker
New member
You may have more muscle on ur legs than I do.. I haven't been working my legs for 10months... If I bring up my lean body mass By hittin legs that may tip the scales and bring my bf% down, my mid section would look the same. So ya 2 people can have the same bf% and look alot diff
Ignorant people can say whatever they want...to each their own. I have my own goals just like most people. I don't even do abs anymore, havent done them for years and I maintain a fairly lean look - about 10% BF. I'm getting bigger and bigger hoping to hit my weight goal one day, which is 240 lbs. At 5'8" I believe I would look like a beast at 240 lbs. I'm about 205-207 lbs now.
ok i been hittin em 4-5 times a week since i started the thread, like i said im not very lean 18%bf last time i checked but i can deff tell a difference under the layer of fat i can feel my abbs there harder than when i was jus doing compund lifts an lil abb work...they dont get sore or feel weak from training them often they just feel and look stronger so in my opinion is to train them often....lotta work ahead but im lookin forward to seeing those lower abbs
Throw some hanging leg raises in bro the v will come in nicely
gstacker
New member
good abs are like good hair: genetics has a lot to do with it.Similar threads
