I often wish that abs werent so frustrating. They can take years to develope, fat always seems to go straight to your gut, and the excersises require more dedication then most other training.
I’ve begun to mantain a helathier diet, and to try work on my stomach consistantly. Because of how long it takes for abs to develop, Its easier to slip into a paranoia about not doing them right…Would anyone share their Ab routines/diets with me? Thank you.
Hey Jake - luckily enough for me I ‘did’ find a magic bullett that made my abs grow quite considerably! I have no idea what the exercise’ proper name is, but I’ll call them ‘kneeling high cable crunches’. I believe they’re a fairly standard thing, I’ve seen a moderate number of people do them (albeit about 90% of them incorrectly). A few months of doing these in the 3-8 rep ranges (you can go freakin’ heavy!!!), I noticed my abs were just more prominant, and I could litereally feel that they were bigger! It was great! I’ve been doing stabiliser work for a long time now, but I think it’s time I got back into some HEAVY ab movements. Just keep in mind that abs are made up of ‘slow-twitch’ fibres, so obviously should be trained using slow-twitch protocols. Cheers.
Abs are not made up of slow-twitch fibers; hence the reason those low-rep protocols worked so well for you.
Could you better describe how to do that knee high cabe pull, because i’ve never heard of it or seen anyone do it at my gym, that I know of, thanks.
i think he means this. (remove any spaces):
www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ RectusAbdominis/CBKneelingCrunch.html
Abs should be trained with heavier weights, fewer reps and more sets with no more frequency than you would train another body part. They are made up of mostly FAST TWITCH muscle fibers.
Ah yes, thanks Erik. You’re 100% right! And I’m more wrong than I care to admit… hehehe… abs are of course made up of predominantly FAST-twitch fibres… [slaps forehead] Cheers Erik.
Check out the link provided, that’s essentially the exercise I’m talking about.
It’s not much of a secret,… I hardly ever work my abs, but when I drop weight, there they are… why?! Do heavy militaries and squats with proper form, and I guarentee you’ll develope your abs!
bent press really hits the obliques, full range good mornings hit the rectus abdominis. These are compound movements that also happen to torch the abs.
I’ve also found some serious DOMS in the abs from doing chins. Just another 2c to add…
Ab training has becoming the most complicated and silliest thing I have ever seen recently and it drives me nuts!! People are writing whole damn books on ab training. I do think these books have some merit. However, for the VAST majority of people out there some type of simple ab training, done 2-3 times a week, hypocaloric diet, and some kind of cardio, are all that is needed to get “good” abs. First off, everyone has visible abs. The reason why you can’t see yours is because fat is covering them up. Lose fat, and you’ll see your abs. Ever seen pictures of starving or wasting individuals. They have awesome abs, and they sure as hell aren’t doing fucking leg raises. Make three exercises your core for ab training: crunches (regular, reverse, and oblique). There are five hundred variations of these, but you can do them on your floor right now and they will produce very similar results as any other variation. Ad some form of cardio in (running, sprinting, biking, walking, etc) for around 25-30 minutes a day 5-6 times a week and wam fam dango you will have abs! Jus stick to everything above as long as possible without cheating and you will yourself a six pack. Simple yes, easy, no!
I was reading Ian King’s 12 weeks to Astounding Abs and I can’t figure out what muscles he’s talking about for his core “thin tummy” variations. I’m supposed to be able to flex my lower abs without engagin the upper ones? This is possible? Maybe someone can explain it to me or at least give me the name of the muscles he’s talking about feeling with your hands so I can bust out the good ole’ encyclopedia britannica and peep those plastic disection pages. Thanks. I’ll stop there.