Big, ripped abs...HOW?

[wallcrawler]

Ok, I'm a mesomorph. Chest/belly hair, propensity to have an poochy, undefined belly. I have flattened it doing various exercises but never had big, tight, six-pack abs. I mean abs that look tight and poke out even just standing relaxed. Ryan Reynolds said he got his doing 500-1000 situps a day. Others I have heard say if you want the real definition you have to use resistance. I know needsize says 5 sets of 5 5-second holds on an ab bench (TUT) does it for him. Once and for all, I wanna know from anyone IN the know, what is the best way to get the big, cut, defined abs I would like to produce? BTW, I already know that abs won't show unless my BF is <10% or so, but that's a seperate issue.

 

[Crocodome]

You could get in your way-back machine and tell your mom to stay away from your dad and hope someone with different genetics comes along. Playing with you. Genetics, diet, cardio. I don't think abs need targeted work as you describe - but what do I know, you described me fairly well. Just what I've learned.

 

[wallcrawler]

*Sigh. Now I'm depressed, croc. I guess there's no hope. j/k.

 

[kx250rider]

Here's the thing: It's really tough to get big abs and ultra-low body fat. Since you need almost no body fat (8% or less to really even see the abs), you have to work hard to trick your body into not storing any fats. And if you go too far into watching calories, you won't be able to grow any muscle tissue either. It took me years of playing around with calorie type, and intake amount, in order to get a balance to allow my sixpack and a little bit of bulk. But I did it! So can you.

I can't advise on the eating habits, since they're radically different for every person. Once I figured out how to get that squared away, and I was maintaining 5% +/- body fat, I began to do some weighted crunches, weighted hyperextension sit-ups, and some weighted knee raises. Within a month or two, the abs started to square out and show a lot better than with my old routine (did it for 20 years) of 350 standard crunches daily. That routine gave me a washboard stomach, but small, underdefined abs. With the weight added, it's a decent sixpack. On the other hand, I'm not huge, and I don't think I ever would be, if I keep my workout/eating habits the way they are. If i wanted to get huge (and I really don't have that desire now), I would have to sacrifice the sixpack and take in a lot more protein calories.

Charles

 

[Billy Blackwell]

To get sizable abs, you need to do heavy resistance. You will get big abs from heavy squats, deads, etc. Also your genetics determine the shape, etc.

 

[shibs]

why would you work them any different than your other muscles? muscles are muscles. how do you get bigger pecs? anaerobic (resistance) excercise.

 

[captainahole]

to get sizable abs, you need to do heavy resistance. You will get big abs from heavy squats, deads, etc. Also your genetics determine the shape, etc.

that's the ticket

 

[ExtraMile]

Just sayin if you were a mesomorph you wouldn't even need to ask these questions. Mesomorphs naturally build muscle and stay lean easily.

I also agree with the guy that said work them like any other muscle

and Charles made a good point that developing ab bulk, by adding more muscle will be very hard if your obsessed with staying lean.

For abs I would hit them once a week, once every 5 days or maybe twice a week. 4-8 sets of a weighted exercise or exercises. My favourite are weighted decline situps, roman chair situps, hanging leg raises and weighted side bends.

You have to make sure to be hitting your spinal erectors hard too so as not to develop imbalances.

Oh and with the weighted situps, hold a plate, dumbell or medicine ball on your forehead or behing your head, not on your chest.

 

[Tblock1]

i think he meant endomorph

 

[kx250rider]

i think he meant endomorph

It's confusing.. In fact I couldn't remember and just went and looked it up:

Ectomorph = skinny ,hard to bulk up, easy to stay thin even on chili-cheese fries

Endomorph = tendency to be with more body fat at all times, no matter diet or muscle bulk hidden under the "insulation" layer.

Mesomorph = tendency toward bulky (muscle mass); harder to be skinny but also easier time keeping from being overweight

Charles

 

[Zyglamail]

Why would ab muscles need 500-1000 reps to build any mass? You need low rep high tension work. Lay on your stomach, toes bent like your going to do a pushup. Stretch arms up over your head, palms down. Tense and with your weight on your hands/feet contract and raise your body off the floor. Chances are you cant come close to doing it with your arms fully outstretched so bend your arms and bring your elbows in and support your weight on forearms. You want to find a position that you can only hold for about 3-5 seconds, do 3-5 reps and 3-5 sets.

Aside from that, drop your BF. Im genetically predisposed to carrying fat on abs chest as well. But low test can also cause that problem.

 

[imafuturebodybuilder]

sorry for posting this on your thread but I always wondered what my body type was.. I'm 6'2" 200lbs yet to gian 40-50 mroe pounds.. over 2 1/2 years i went from 150 to 200 lbs while being lean, since i'm so tall i think im ectomorph, because I can stay lean even if i would go to mcdonalds for every meal, but i can also gain muscle when i want to. so please help..


And again WallCrawler I'm sorry for high jacking your thread.

 

[Tblock1]

sorry for posting this on your thread but I always wondered what my body type was.. I'm 6'2" 200lbs yet to gian 40-50 mroe pounds.. over 2 1/2 years i went from 150 to 200 lbs while being lean, since i'm so tall i think im ectomorph, because I can stay lean even if i would go to mcdonalds for every meal, but i can also gain muscle when i want to. so please help..


And again WallCrawler I'm sorry for high jacking your thread.

ectomorph.

 

[b fold the truth]

To get sizable abs, you need to do heavy resistance. You will get big abs from heavy squats, deads, etc. Also your genetics determine the shape, etc.

Agree...but...

You aren't going to have a heavy squat or deadlift without strong abs...built from doing ab exercises...

It is like a circle...hard to know what comes first

 

[wallcrawler]

sorry for posting this on your thread but I always wondered what my body type was.. I'm 6'2" 200lbs yet to gian 40-50 mroe pounds.. over 2 1/2 years i went from 150 to 200 lbs while being lean, since i'm so tall i think im ectomorph, because I can stay lean even if i would go to mcdonalds for every meal, but i can also gain muscle when i want to. so please help..


And again WallCrawler I'm sorry for high jacking your thread.

No peoblem, bro! The more the merrier!
I guess I was wrong about my body type but thanks for all the info everyone! Great responses!

 

[kx250rider]

Update on my own progress (I'm putting it in this thread, since the one I started is a couple months old). History: Been doing super-high reps on abs every day for years, and had a well-defined sixpack but very small bricks. About 2 months ago, I changed over to 4 days/week weighted abs (10-12 reps x 3-4 sets hyperextension crunches with 100-lb hex, 8-10 reps 3 sets vertical bench crunches with 35-45 lb hex, and 160-lb weighted knee raises (hassle to set up, so only done those a couple times). Results: SIGNIFICANT increase in brick size, and still flat! I was worried I'd get a "muscle belly", but as others assured me here, I haven't. I'll get & post pics when I'm ready.

I haven't decided how much weight to work up to, and haven't decided what size abs to go for in relation to the rest of the body. I want good proportion, so I will have to fine-tune.

Another thing I noticed is that I've gained a couple pounds, and lost an inch of waist. That's a surprise, as I was prepared to increase the waist with ab size.

Charles