Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

I've been trying to strengthen my abs to help correct the lower back pain I've been having (OK, I admit it, I just wanna have a sweet 6-pack). I only have a small layer of fat in my stomach area, which of course I will need to have to burn off. Otherwise, I was wondering what exercises are optimal for strengthening the abs. I've been doing the first few exercises on this list to get myself going. A couple questions:

1. Are these the best ab exercises?

2. Do you need rest days between ab exercises like working with your arms, chest etc., or is this an endurance thing where you can do it pretty much every day?

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Yeah just do the bicycle exercise- it's the best. I wetn from a little bit of a pot belly to a six-pack within a month.

For the first couple weeks I did it every other day, but I don't get sore any more, so it's every day.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah just do the bicycle exercise- it's the best. I wetn from a little bit of a pot belly to a six-pack within a month.

[/ QUOTE ]

I call BS. You can't go from pot belly to six pack without doing some real cardio to take the fat off.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

You want to be doing back extensions for the lower back pain, not ab exercises.

EDIT: Also, it's generally acknowledged that your abs don't need as much time to heal as other parts of your body, so you want to be doing them everyday, assuming you're not sore.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

okay...

I was lifting weights at the time as well, but no cardio.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
okay...

I was lifting weights at the time as well, but no cardio.

[/ QUOTE ]

There you go. That post of yours was a bit deceptive. You made it sound like you can get a 6 pack just from the bicycle exercise which is just false.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Wouldn't it make more sense to ask if I was doing anything else than "call bs"?

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

yeah, cuz lifting weights just burns so much fat (thats sarcasm)


these threads are always so stupid. Its mostly people who have no idea what they are talking about, giving out lots of bad advice. If you wanna learn what to do for abs, go down to the bookstore and look at some exersise books, there are lots of them specifically for your abs. Youll learn alot more there than you will from this thread

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

1. I didn't look at the list. I'll just tell you what has worked for me over the years.

Crunches. Crunches are *the absolute best* exercise for training your upper abs. Crunches on exercise ball are better.
Do not waste your time with situps. Situps do more work on the hip flexors than anything else.

Other great ones are leg raises (lay flat on your back, hands under your butt, legs straight out and raise to about a 45 degree angle and bring back down - don't touch the floor), and hanging knee raises (hang from a pull up bar, bring your knees up, lower them down, repeat).

Why such a small list of exercises? Because you don't need to know 10 or 20. Why? Because...

2. Yes, you do need rest days, and most people who train their abs train them wrong. You don't need to do 100 crunches every day to get a 6-pack. In fact, doing 100 crunches every day is the reason most people don't have decent abs. The abdominals are a muscle just like your biceps, quadriceps, pecs, etc... They are composed mostly of fast-twitch muscle fibers - which means they respond better to low repetition weight training as opposed to high volume work. The lower abs have a little more slow-twitch in them than the upper abs and do respond better to a few more reps, but certainly not in the 100s.

Here are my suggestions:

Pick two days a week to train abs, space them out so you get maximum rest between them. Examples: Monday & Thursday, Tuesday & Friday, etc... Do 3 sets of 10 crunches and 3 sets of 12 lying leg raises. Do them with a smooth tempo and focus on doing them *perfectly*. Rest 2 minutes between each set.

When you are able to do all 3 sets with perfect form, start adding weight. For the crunches put a dumbbell or weight plate on your chest or behind your head. Keep working till you do them perfectly and then move up. For the leg raises, hold a dumbbell between your feet.

This will hurt the next day the first few times more than doing a bunch of sit ups ever did.

Note that this alone will not give you a well-defined stomach. You can do this for 20 years and if you don't have low bodyfat, you won't see a thing (but anyone who punches you in the stomach will regret it because under that fat you'll have a solid wall of abs).

However... my bodyfat is naturally low due to my metabolism, so I am completely useless if you need info on that. Hop on a treadmill or something I guess.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Lifting weighs can burn fat. When you do leg workouts with weights, for example, and your pulse is getting up into teh 160 range consistently with each lift then you are burning fat and adding muscle.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

on a side note id like to hear what anyone has to say about the following:

i was watching this infomercial on a product called slendertone. its one of those bands that go around your waist and is supposed to electroshock your muscles to work. in the past these things were said to be a scam, but this one looked like it might actually work especially since jerry rice was on the program talking about he himself uses it. people think that its a cakewalk to use this program, but it became apparent that the belt can certainly hurt as it simulates an actual workout.

i searched google for reviews on the product and it seems that people finding it to work. alot of people were mentioning how they toned alot of their muscles in their body and look much better. alot of people who appeared to be fat posted poor reviews saying that slendertone didnt do anything for them, but that is because slendertone is designed for slender people who arent overweight but just want to tone their muscles. a person with 4 inches of gut on them isnt going to suddenly become skinny. he will have stronger muscles but he wont even see them.

anyone know anything about this?

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

lay off the donuts

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

oh oh! here's a thread where i spread lots of misinformation about ab workouts.

i think the bicycle one is best.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

bicycle crunches and normal crunches. leg lifts as well. as others have posted.

for a while now i have been swimming laps on a regular basis and have found it is the best exercise i have ever routinely had.

has burned off a lot and toned up muscles i had never really worked before to give a better overall physique.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
yeah, cuz lifting weights just burns so much fat (thats sarcasm)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your sarcasm meter must be broken! Lifting weights alone will add muscle. The more muscle you have on your body, the more fat your burn at rest. It's called elevating the BMR. (Basil Metabolic Rate)

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Everyone has a 6-pack. How well it is shown is based on your body fat percentage. The best exercise for getting a 6-pack is done in the kitchen.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Stomach exercises and back and side exercises are all important. What you're looking for is what peopple are popularly calling "core" strength or "core" stability. The muscles that support and move your trunk -- obliques, abs, muscles around the ribs, lower back, hip flexors -- qualify. For optimum back health, you need to develop all of them.

The link you gave is a bit lame. For one, it recommends one of those foolish "ab rocker" t.v. chairs. They suck.

Personally, I like ab wheels a lot. They can give all of your core muscles a tremendous work-out in almost no time at all. They're generally no more than 20 bucks, and some of the cheapest ones are half that, but you want one with at least some width to the wheel so you have a little stability rolling out. Roll out from the knees, and use your abs to pull you in, not your arms. Keep your arms with the elbows locked or almost locked. Feeling like you're pushing back with the butt instead of pulling back with the arms, back, or shoulders will do a lot to help you concentrate on firing your abs and making them do the work. They'll do plenty of work if you do the movement in a sloppy way too, but you really don't want to turn it into a back/arms exercise. You want those abs strong enough not to need to "cheat". When you get strong enough, do the ab wheel roll-outs from a full standing position. Start very slow at first; even half a dozen from the knees might give you a sore feeling.

There are also ab wheels with footstraps, and you use your hands to walk out along the floor. These are more comfortable for doing certain exercises like walking up and down your living room instead of doing static jack-knifing of your body.

You can work the abs every day.

To really get a six pack to show, it's mostly about diet, not muscle. Unless you know how to manage your diet to keep lean, you can probably forget about a six-pack unless you're a very committed athlete making serious work-outs a big part of your lifestyle. And maybe not even then. You can't spot reduce fat; it comees off your whole body. So lay off the six-packs if you want to have a six-pack.

Best Book EVER
 

The best book ever written on the subject (certainly the best I've ever read) can be found here.

Seriously, highly reccomended.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Hey these are my abs:

http://www.geocities.com/larryownsyou/lng2.jpg

Sorry for the fuzzy picture. Anyways I've maintained these babies for well over 5 years now. I use to be a fat kid who had poor metabolism. If you want abs I'm gonna tell you how.

First off, abs won't show with fat over it. If you've got a gut, pot belly, big ass bowl in your tummy you need to get rid of it. To do that you need to do cardio, lots of cardio ..at least a good 40-50 minutes a session.

Do that consitently, cut down on hydrogenated, processed, refined [censored] too and keep your diet natural.

Now the key to maximizing any muscle group is isolate it and isolate that group only. The problem with sit ups and most other very repetitive workouts like the bike kick is that it's useless. Not only are they useless, but they hurt/strain your back and neck.

The abs are just like any other muscle group. You need to do sets, reps, and they need to work to the point of exhaustion to grow muscle.

1. At my gym I use a special ab machine ( I can't find a picture of it sorry) where you lie down and weights can be inserted either by the feet and/or near the head. Basically if the weights are inserted by the feet, it increases difficulty, if the weights are inserted by the head it decresases it.

The great thing about this machine is that you don't need to do like 100 sit ups. You can gradually add/take off more/less weights and just simply crunch up to get a full ab workout. There is no strain on your back or neck as you use your legs and arms to assist you.

2. I love the ab roller. Again this machine is great cuz there is no strain on the neck or back. To the use the ab roller well, you don't do 100 crunches. You bring yourself up as far as you can and then hold for either 5 or 10 or 15 seconds depending on how strong your abs are. Do this 4 times. Take a break, repeat, and then turn over and lie on your left/right side and do the same thing only this time working your side muscles. AGain hold each set for 5/10/15 seconds whatever your pain threshold is.

3. To do the lower abs I usually sit my ass on a bench, place my arms behind me on the bench for support, raise my legs and bring them in so they are in a tucked position towards my tummy. Then i stretch them out and bring them in again.

4. To get that horseshoe line around the abs, you can grab a weight with one hand, place your other hand on your forehead and just dip the weight down and bring it back up. Do this for about 10 reps and increase the weight each time.

Remember, the key thing is not to strain your back/neck and I find that resistance and adding weights is the best way to make the ab muscle grow and define itself. You will also have to work out other parts of your body too to keep the metabolism up, but intermixing the cardio/strength training will be most beneficial. Remember, abs are just like the chest muscle/back muscle. You need to work it out hard for a session and give it rest. I usually do abs 1 - 1.5 times a week and that's it. You don't need to do sit ups everyday otherwise it will actually backfire on you.

Sorry if the write-up is erratic, it's late I'm kinda tired.

Hope this helps.

Lawrence

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Get in the thinking position for as long as you can (hopefully at least 30 seconds). Gradually increase the amount of time you hold it.

To get into the thinking position lie flat on your stomache like youre about to do a push up. Instead of doing a push up, lift yourself up with your elbows and hold yourself rigid about a foot off the ground. Your abs should be tight.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Lawrence,

Thanks for all your input in your post.

One thing:

[ QUOTE ]
4. To get that horseshoe line around the abs, you can grab a weight with one hand, place your other hand on your forehead and just dip the weight down and bring it back up. Do this for about 10 reps and increase the weight each time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Help?

I don't understand what that means. I'm picturing like bending to the side while holding a weight and holding my forehead. If this is about right, lemme know. If not, same.

Thanks,

citanul

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
Lawrence,

Thanks for all your input in your post.

One thing:

[ QUOTE ]
4. To get that horseshoe line around the abs, you can grab a weight with one hand, place your other hand on your forehead and just dip the weight down and bring it back up. Do this for about 10 reps and increase the weight each time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Help?

I don't understand what that means. I'm picturing like bending to the side while holding a weight and holding my forehead. If this is about right, lemme know. If not, same.

Thanks,

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Citanul,

This is basically what you do. Grab a 25 pound weight (or whatever feels right for you), with your right arm. Keep the arm extended vertically by your hip holding the weight.

Now take your left hand and put it on your ear so it cups your left ear. You should kinda look like a human tea pot at this point.

Now lower the right side of your body keeping your right arm straight while using the weight on your arm to help you lower yourself. Do this slowly so you feel a good stretch along the lower left side of your love handles.

Then slowly bring yourself back up till you are back at your starting position. Repeat this about 10 to 15 times. Vary the weight.

Now do the same reversing the hands. If you work it hard enough, your lower side abs will feel like a truck ran over them the next day, but you will also feel like the muscle.

Hope this helps. If you wanna learn more about good body workouts read Men's Health - best magazine IMHO.

Lawrence

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
I love the ab roller.

[/ QUOTE ]
I want to double-check before I go buy one .. you're talking about one of these , rather than one of those little wheels, right? Is there much of a difference between different brands?

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Most of the information that Lawrence posted, at least the main points are wrong. You do not need to isolate the muscle, isolation exercises are mainly for pro body builders (that isnt to say you shouldnt do some isolation exercises). My fear from his post, is that you will do nothing in the gym, but ab exercises, and run. You will def not get a six pack this way. Also, lifting weight burns more fat than any other exercise, because you build more muscle, and muscle in turn burns more fat throughout the day ( i think alobar was the one that said sarcastacilly that weight lifting does burn fat). Smarty was right on target about good abs are made in the kitchen.
Eat clean, and lower your cals below your BMR,

do heavy compound exersices (if you arent really out of shape), such as squats, deadlifts, cleans, benchpress etc.

do not do long drawn out cardio sessions, do short very intensive 20-30 min sessions, such as sprinting, running at a fast pace uphill, etc.

2 ingredients are needed for abs, low body fat percentage, and some amount of fat.
Im not saying that you cant get abs other ways, such as a lot of cardio, etc, but this is the proven quickest way to acheive your goal.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In Antwort auf:</font><hr />
Most of the information that Lawrence posted, at least the main points are wrong. You do not need to isolate the muscle, isolation exercises are mainly for pro body builders. Also, lifting weight burns more fat than any other exercise, because you build more muscle, and muscle in turn burns more fat throughout the day ( i think alobar was the one that said sarcastacilly that weight lifting does burn fat). Smarty was right on target about good abs are made in the kitchen.
Eat clean, and lower your cals below your BMR,

do heavy compound exersices (if you arent really out of shape), such as squats, deadlifts, cleans, benchpress etc.

do not do long drawn out cardio sessions, do short very intensive 20-30 min sessions, such as sprinting, running at a fast pace uphill, etc.

2 ingredients are needed for abs, low body fat percentage, and some amount of fat.
Im not saying that you cant get abs other ways, such as a lot of cardio, etc, but this is the proven quickest way to acheive your goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

You win.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most of the information that Lawrence posted, at least the main points are wrong. You do not need to isolate the muscle, isolation exercises are mainly for pro body builders. Also, lifting weight burns more fat than any other exercise, because you build more muscle, and muscle in turn burns more fat throughout the day ( i think alobar was the one that said sarcastacilly that weight lifting does burn fat). Smarty was right on target about good abs are made in the kitchen.
Eat clean, and lower your cals below your BMR,

do heavy compound exersices (if you arent really out of shape), such as squats, deadlifts, cleans, benchpress etc.

do not do long drawn out cardio sessions, do short very intensive 20-30 min sessions, such as sprinting, running at a fast pace uphill, etc.

2 ingredients are needed for abs, low body fat percentage, and some amount of fat.
Im not saying that you cant get abs other ways, such as a lot of cardio, etc, but this is the proven quickest way to acheive your goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

You win.

[/ QUOTE ]

I usually do. I also should make a plug for t-nation.com, they are the twoplustwo of bodybuilding, it may be a little hardcore for the average douche bag gym rat, but there is so much good info there.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In Antwort auf:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In Antwort auf:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In Antwort auf:</font><hr />
Most of the information that Lawrence posted, at least the main points are wrong. You do not need to isolate the muscle, isolation exercises are mainly for pro body builders. Also, lifting weight burns more fat than any other exercise, because you build more muscle, and muscle in turn burns more fat throughout the day ( i think alobar was the one that said sarcastacilly that weight lifting does burn fat). Smarty was right on target about good abs are made in the kitchen.
Eat clean, and lower your cals below your BMR,

do heavy compound exersices (if you arent really out of shape), such as squats, deadlifts, cleans, benchpress etc.

do not do long drawn out cardio sessions, do short very intensive 20-30 min sessions, such as sprinting, running at a fast pace uphill, etc.

2 ingredients are needed for abs, low body fat percentage, and some amount of fat.
Im not saying that you cant get abs other ways, such as a lot of cardio, etc, but this is the proven quickest way to acheive your goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

You win.

[/ QUOTE ]

I usually do. I also should make a plug for t-nation.com, they are the twoplustwo of bodybuilding, it may be a little hardcore for the average douche bag gym rat, but there is so much good info there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh my God that is so money. I credit Chad Waterbury's pieces there on upping training volume with making me the man I am today and I have a feeling the latest by Charles Poliquin (the lactic acid training one) will do the same.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

He seems to be fairly alone in his belief on that lactic acid thing. He admits as much there, but says he has his beliefs anyway.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In Antwort auf:</font><hr />
He seems to be fairly alone in his belief on that lactic acid thing. He admits as much there, but says he has his beliefs anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well the approach-to me at least-is based on the same mechanism of something like drop sets; stressing muscles for a longer continous period of time has been shown to increase anabolic hormone levels so it is sound on that level.

Most of all though, its just a way to fit in a second super hardcore session for each of my muscle groups during the week

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Lawrence,

Thanks for all your input in your post.

One thing:

[ QUOTE ]
4. To get that horseshoe line around the abs, you can grab a weight with one hand, place your other hand on your forehead and just dip the weight down and bring it back up. Do this for about 10 reps and increase the weight each time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Help?

I don't understand what that means. I'm picturing like bending to the side while holding a weight and holding my forehead. If this is about right, lemme know. If not, same.

Thanks,

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Citanul,

This is basically what you do. Grab a 25 pound weight (or whatever feels right for you), with your right arm. Keep the arm extended vertically by your hip holding the weight.

Now take your left hand and put it on your ear so it cups your left ear. You should kinda look like a human tea pot at this point.

Now lower the right side of your body keeping your right arm straight while using the weight on your arm to help you lower yourself. Do this slowly so you feel a good stretch along the lower left side of your love handles.

Then slowly bring yourself back up till you are back at your starting position. Repeat this about 10 to 15 times. Vary the weight.

Now do the same reversing the hands. If you work it hard enough, your lower side abs will feel like a truck ran over them the next day, but you will also feel like the muscle.

Hope this helps. If you wanna learn more about good body workouts read Men's Health - best magazine IMHO.

Lawrence

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm personally a fan of side-bridges, and I'm certain that if you add those to the side bends (basically the same concept), you could get seriously cut.

Laying on your side, you use your elbow/forearm for support. Propped up on your elbow (directly under the shoulder, btw), lift your hips off the ground so all that is touching the floor is your arm and your foot. Hold this position for 20 seconds (beginners) and work your way up gradually to 1 minute per rep. 3 reps on each side, alternating, 30 seconds of rest between reps.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

I'm in pretty good shape. Over the last three years, I've run two trail marathons and one 1/2 marathon. I play ultimate frisbee for a club team (lots of sprinting, etc.). We practice 5-6 hours/week and I play league frisbee (not as much of a workout) for another 2 hours/week. I also do some running (mix of longer distance stuff and short track workouts) ~2 times/week.

I eat fairly healthy food, but my eating schedule is not so regular (I often skip breakfast, eat lunch late, eat dinner late, etc.).

Despite all of the exercise, there's still a layer of fat over my abs. I recently started doing 200-300 situp-type-exercises and 100-200 pushups/triceps 4-5 days per week. I've only been doing those for a month or so, but they seem to be helping quite a bit.

I'm tired of not having good abs, though, so I'd like to take the shortest path to a six-pack.

So, from this thread, I'm thinking of

1) buying an ab roller and using it instead of my normal situps
2) going to the gym (this is harder .. i have both knee and shoulder injuries that hurt when i lift)
3) straightening out my eating schedule.

i've never heard of BMR before .. is this the right stuff?

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

Don't waste your money on an ab-roller. The best thing to do will be to join a gym. The best thing to do for abs, or any other muscle, is big compound movements. Since you say you cannot join a gym, then do sit-ups, leg raises, push-ups, dips, and pull-ups around the house. Do high-intensity cardio (I like to DDR myself [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]). Eat clean. No fast-food ever. A cutting diet should have a high amount of protein, moderate carbs, and low fats. Getting a six pack to show is all about sticking to the diet.

USEFUL LINKS: www.JohnStoneFitness.com , www.BodyBuilding.com

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

squat, deadlif, bench press and eat a clean diet.


your abs take up less than 5% of your overall skeletal muscle. "working them" is like staying up late at night wondering how you will play your royal flushes this year.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

If lifting is really the key, I'll just do as much as I can without making my injuries worse. I think my knees can handle quite a bit these days. I'm a grad student, so the university gym is free.

Thanks for the other advice. I'll check out the links in the morning.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

I think that it's generally held that the anabolic hormone level increases are extremely small, so much so that they really don't matter much at all.

I'm certainly no scientist myself, just passing along what I've read casually, including stuff on t-nation itself.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

If it is your knees that are bothering you, you may be able to do lighter squats without hurting them. Since it sounds like you have not lifted before, make sure you start light. The target would be to do between 8-10 reps for each exercise. For the first two or three weeks, do about 12 reps for each exercise. I would concentrate on compound movements, like bench presses and pullups (you could still do some isolation movements, just don't go crazy doing bicep curls). Those websites I wrote down are excellent sources for anybody that is just starting out, I would go there if I were you for more info.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
I think that it's generally held that the anabolic hormone level increases are extremely small, so much so that they really don't matter much at all.

I'm certainly no scientist myself, just passing along what I've read casually, including stuff on t-nation itself.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's certainly not taking hormones themselves, but the increases-as small as they are-aggregated over several hundred training sessions could make a difference.

On a related note, I find that I have trouble training closer to where the muscle is actually near failure unless I use the higher intensity techniques like compound sets/drop sets/partials and they provide a greater calorie burn than just straight sets-which is necessary for a butter boy like myself.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
squat, deadlif, bench press and eat a clean diet.


your abs take up less than 5% of your overall skeletal muscle. "working them" is like staying up late at night wondering how you will play your royal flushes this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Many health and bodybuilding publications have shown research to prove that this is wrong. While its true that your abs are a relatively small muscle group, they can be somewhat difficult to isolate (upper abs, lower abs, obliques), and actually, working on them will increase strength in other areas (core power).

While the squat, deadlift, and clean are 3 very important exercises, they are basic ones that go for large muscle groups. There's a reason they make a leg extension machine for your quads even though squat racks are readily available, etc. Isolation is important.

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

[ QUOTE ]
squat, deadlif, bench press and eat a clean diet.


your abs take up less than 5% of your overall skeletal muscle. "working them" is like staying up late at night wondering how you will play your royal flushes this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

bah, i think you're totally underestimating the PV of good abs relative to the PV of other muscle groups.

citanul

Re: Ab Exercises/Getting that 6-pack
 

bah, i think you're totally underestimating the PV of good abs relative to the PV of other muscle groups.

not at all. i spent a winter getting my BF% to sub 10% levels in order to improve the aesticis (sp) of my mid section. i did 10 weighted situps once a week.