Beginning the Start of a Six Pack

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey for a while now i have never cared for a six pack due to the fact that i wanted to bulk and gain weight much more than having six pack abs. Well now spring break is coming around the corner and i finally want to have a six pack. Im starting from basically nothing in that area.

What i need help with is a good ab routine and help understanding how to fix my diet. I dont know if i should lessen the amount of calories im taking per day or what. I dont want to lose size or strength while building my six pack. If anyone could give me a good understanding of how to alter my diet and also a good ab weekly routine that would be amazing.

2

Well, first off, what is your diet looking like now? Also, what is the bulk you have achieved? 20, 30, 40 lbs? And can you tell us your program currently?

3

Weight 175-180
Age: 19
Height: 6ft 1 inch
BF %: 12-13

Diet:
Wakeup: 3 eggs + 1 cup oatmeal + protein shake
Snack: Peanut butter/milk/banana protein shake
Lunch: pasta + can of tuna or steak
Snack: Protein Shake
Dinner: Steak + broccoli + fruit
Before bed: Peanut butter/milk/banana protein shake

This is just roughly what i ate today but it changes around a little day by day.

Workout Plan:

Monday: Chest + triceps
4 x 8-10 reps flat benchpress
4 x 8-10 dumbell incline benchpress
3 x 12-15 cable crossover
3 x 8-10 cable pushdown
3 x 8-10 lying triceps extension

tuesday: Back + biceps
4 x 8-10 chin-up
4 x 8-10 close grip chin-up
4 x 8-10 seated row
4 x 6-10 deadlift
3 x 8-10 dumbell curl
3 x 8-10 barbell curl

wednesday: Shoulders
4 x 8-10 dumbell shoulder press
4 x 10-12 dumbell lateral raise
4 x 10-12 dumbell rear lateral raise
4 x 12-16 shrugs

etc.

thursday: chest + tricep
friday: back + bicep
saturday: shoulders
sunday: pause

I just switched from doing 5 x 5 for a long time so i switched to doing a lot more volume.

4

One more question… I hope I didn’t read it wrong, but where is your leg day?

5

I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks, i know people are going to say OMG no wonder you dont have abs you dont squat and drink milk or deadlift. I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack.

6

[quote]jck524 wrote:
I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack. [/quote]
Hoo-Boy…

7

[quote]jck524 wrote:
I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks[/quote]

Do you have any idea how ridiculous light bulbs with chicken legs look?

Seeing as you already know what is required to get a six pack, why are you asking for help to get a six pack?

8

draw that six pack with a pen, its really easy, and looks almost as good as the real thing!

or you can lower your calorie intake, still lift moderate to heavy weights,(give your body a good reason to keep those guns) DO F**KIN SQATS, oh yeah, read up on HIIT, pretty much melts the fat away.

Seriously though, what burns fat? Muscle.
Where are the largest muscles on your body?
legs.
so which do you think will burn more fat? upper body lifting or lower body?
How about…
TRAIN THEM BOTH!!

nuff said.

I used to be like you, not too long ago actually, then I found this site, and others, and started doing squats, and more compounds workouts.

oh yeah, why dont you try doing full body workouts 3/4 times a week instead of the split routine? You will burn even more fat. Throw in some HIIT right after, and you will be pure power.

9

You’ll start doing leg workouts when your upper body starts to get big and your legs are still small. You’ll look way unproportionate and wish you would of started doing legs a long time ago.

Your workouts will be way better if you throw legs into the routine. Every muscle compliments another in one way or the other.

10

[quote]jck524 wrote:
I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks, i know people are going to say OMG no wonder you dont have abs you dont squat and drink milk or deadlift. I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack. [/quote]

You deserve a good beating little boy!

11

[quote]jck524 wrote:
I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks, i know people are going to say OMG no wonder you dont have abs you dont squat and drink milk or deadlift. I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack. [/quote]

Hmm, working out primarily for aesthetic purposes is absolutely ok and nothing that you have to justify yourself for. Do whatever you like.

HOWEVER, working out for aesthetics is NOT a justification not to know about the most basic principles of lifting and repeating all the dozens of beginner mistakes that have already been made by every 2-man-bench/momentum curl/1000 situps guy on the planet ?

IF you already spend time working out, why not do is smart ? why not get the most out of your time investment ?

First, if you want to achieve a certain goal and people who were in the very same position like you and have already done it or know how to do it give you advice, why do you reject that advice ? If you already know how to do it then whats the point of asking in the first place ? Maybe you should have given us a couple of answers you’d LIKE to hear ? Less effort for everybody.

Furthermore, your posts indicate that you know indeed almost nothing about lifting weight. Not work legs because you don’t care how your legs look ? Funny thing is that there is no localized hormonal response, the amount of hormones released by your body is more or less directly proportional to the amount of muscle mass that you work, meaning that if you neglect 50% of your body from the waist down you will be at a tremendous disadvantage compared to somebody who doesnt. Just ask one of the countless kids that made that exact mistake before you what happened when they started training seriously.

Now IF you are a beginner (which is obvious, again nothing to be ashamed of but you need to understand how little you know to actually start learning), you are doing (of course) some stupid advanced bodypart split spending much of your time working very small muscles. Not very productive at all.

If you were no beginner, you would know that having a “six-pack” or whatever other shape of abdominal muscles you aim for is 100% determined by your parents and cannot be altered through training.

Whether you can actually see the separations depends 95% on your body composition. The biggest impact (by far) on body composition has your diet, NOT your workout.

And last, you claim to weight between 175-180 lbs at 6ft1 AFTER a ‘bulk’ ? what exactly do you want to cut ? Amputate a leg maybe ? You cannot flex bone, no matter how hard you try.

With that weight you are either skinny-fat or just skinny, you should start working out and eating like you work out.

12

[quote]Petrichor wrote:
jck524 wrote:
I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks, i know people are going to say OMG no wonder you dont have abs you dont squat and drink milk or deadlift. I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack.

Hmm, working out primarily for aesthetic purposes is absolutely ok and nothing that you have to justify yourself for. Do whatever you like.

HOWEVER, working out for aesthetics is NOT a justification not to know about the most basic principles of lifting and repeating all the dozens of beginner mistakes that have already been made by every 2-man-bench/momentum curl/1000 situps guy on the planet ?

IF you already spend time working out, why not do is smart ? why not get the most out of your time investment ?

First, if you want to achieve a certain goal and people who were in the very same position like you and have already done it or know how to do it give you advice, why do you reject that advice ? If you already know how to do it then whats the point of asking in the first place ? Maybe you should have given us a couple of answers you’d LIKE to hear ? Less effort for everybody.

Furthermore, your posts indicate that you know indeed almost nothing about lifting weight. Not work legs because you don’t care how your legs look ? Funny thing is that there is no localized hormonal response, the amount of hormones released by your body is more or less directly proportional to the amount of muscle mass that you work, meaning that if you neglect 50% of your body from the waist down you will be at a tremendous disadvantage compared to somebody who doesnt. Just ask one of the countless kids that made that exact mistake before you what happened when they started training seriously.

Now IF you are a beginner (which is obvious, again nothing to be ashamed of but you need to understand how little you know to actually start learning), you are doing (of course) some stupid advanced bodypart split spending much of your time working very small muscles. Not very productive at all.

If you were no beginner, you would know that having a “six-pack” or whatever other shape of abdominal muscles you aim for is 100% determined by your parents and cannot be altered through training.

Whether you can actually see the separations depends 95% on your body composition. The biggest impact (by far) on body composition has your diet, NOT your workout.

And last, you claim to weight between 175-180 lbs at 6ft1 AFTER a ‘bulk’ ? what exactly do you want to cut ? Amputate a leg maybe ? You cannot flex bone, no matter how hard you try.

With that weight you are either skinny-fat or just skinny, you should start working out and eating like you work out.[/quote]

hahahaha i knew i was going to get grilled after posting that comment. I know legs are a huge factor but i also know a lot of people who do not work them out and still have a six pack. and i bulked from 135 to 175-180. and also ive heard A LOT of condradicting views on leg workouts such as some people say if you want big arms, squat, while others say if you want big arms just work your damn arms out even more, thats the reason why im interested in my first question i posted. Also you do not need to be 220+ to look huge, i already stated once im not looking to be that big.

13

[quote]jck524 wrote:
Petrichor wrote:
jck524 wrote:
I dont do legs because i just dont give a damn about them, im not working out to become rlly huge im working out only for looks, i know people are going to say OMG no wonder you dont have abs you dont squat and drink milk or deadlift. I really believe it is not required to do these exercises to get a six pack.

Hmm, working out primarily for aesthetic purposes is absolutely ok and nothing that you have to justify yourself for. Do whatever you like.

HOWEVER, working out for aesthetics is NOT a justification not to know about the most basic principles of lifting and repeating all the dozens of beginner mistakes that have already been made by every 2-man-bench/momentum curl/1000 situps guy on the planet ?

IF you already spend time working out, why not do is smart ? why not get the most out of your time investment ?

First, if you want to achieve a certain goal and people who were in the very same position like you and have already done it or know how to do it give you advice, why do you reject that advice ? If you already know how to do it then whats the point of asking in the first place ? Maybe you should have given us a couple of answers you’d LIKE to hear ? Less effort for everybody.

Furthermore, your posts indicate that you know indeed almost nothing about lifting weight. Not work legs because you don’t care how your legs look ? Funny thing is that there is no localized hormonal response, the amount of hormones released by your body is more or less directly proportional to the amount of muscle mass that you work, meaning that if you neglect 50% of your body from the waist down you will be at a tremendous disadvantage compared to somebody who doesnt. Just ask one of the countless kids that made that exact mistake before you what happened when they started training seriously.

Now IF you are a beginner (which is obvious, again nothing to be ashamed of but you need to understand how little you know to actually start learning), you are doing (of course) some stupid advanced bodypart split spending much of your time working very small muscles. Not very productive at all.

If you were no beginner, you would know that having a “six-pack” or whatever other shape of abdominal muscles you aim for is 100% determined by your parents and cannot be altered through training.

Whether you can actually see the separations depends 95% on your body composition. The biggest impact (by far) on body composition has your diet, NOT your workout.

And last, you claim to weight between 175-180 lbs at 6ft1 AFTER a ‘bulk’ ? what exactly do you want to cut ? Amputate a leg maybe ? You cannot flex bone, no matter how hard you try.

With that weight you are either skinny-fat or just skinny, you should start working out and eating like you work out.

hahahaha i knew i was going to get grilled after posting that comment. I know legs are a huge factor but i also know a lot of people who do not work them out and still have a six pack. and i bulked from 135 to 175-180. and also ive heard A LOT of condradicting views on leg workouts such as some people say if you want big arms, squat, while others say if you want big arms just work your damn arms out even more, thats the reason why im interested in my first question i posted. Also you do not need to be 220+ to look huge, i already stated once im not looking to be that big.[/quote]

Listen to Petrichor.

14

Listen to these guys.

I’m 5’11" and weighed 130lbs. I bulked to 206, then cut down to 194 to see what I really gained.

In this time I did no direct ab work, but a lot of complexes and money exercises. After I cut I learned that I gained…a six pack! The muscles looked exactly the same only bigger. This is due to heavy loads lifted. I put up the fuller looking abs to very deep front squats and putting weight over my head.

Training your legs is mandatory to having a good set of abs. I mean seriously, what connects your lower body with your upper body? If you don’t train legs your abs will still look all emaciated. Besides, since I grew a huge ass from deadlifting the girls pay more attention to that.

15

[quote]jck524 wrote:

hahahaha i knew i was going to get grilled after posting that comment. I know legs are a huge factor but i also know a lot of people who do not work them out and still have a six pack. and i bulked from 135 to 175-180. and also ive heard A LOT of condradicting views on leg workouts such as some people say if you want big arms, squat, while others say if you want big arms just work your damn arms out even more, thats the reason why im interested in my first question i posted. Also you do not need to be 220+ to look huge, i already stated once im not looking to be that big.[/quote]

Well first if you know that legs are a huge factor, why don’t you train them? You say you’re working out only for looks, which is fine. But newsflash, women like a strong pair of legs and no one is impressed by the light bulb look. A big upper body on a pair of sticks is not a good look.

Second, you say that you don’t train legs because you know others who don’t and still have a six pack? So what, I know people who never trained before in their life and have a six pack. Does that mean that I would tell someone who doesn’t have one to just not train? No. You need to realize that, as Petrichor stated above, genetics play a huge role. If you’ve got a natural six pack then you don’t need to do anything special to get one. If you don’t then it’d probably not be a good idea to assume that following the training routine of someone who is more genetically gifted than you in that area will give you the same results.

Moral of the story, train legs, clean up your diet and yeah, throw in some HIIT for good measure and the six pack will come.

16

[quote]jck524 wrote:
I know legs are a huge factor but i also know a lot of people who do not work them out and still have a six pack.[/quote]

But you don’t. I had a six-pack working a desk job, eating as much as I wanted, avoiding sports and drinking beer every day. That doesn’t mean you should do the same.

17

[quote]grrrsauce wrote:
Besides, since I grew a huge ass from deadlifting the girls pay more attention to that.[/quote]

Truth

18

Working out with exercises like heavy squats and deads will help you burn signifigant amounts of calories AFTER the workout is over due to the recovery required. Along with a more well rounded look, it will help you achieve your 6-pack sooner.

Working out you arms will not give you a good six pack… so why work those out? They dont provide nearly the calorie boost that squats would.

19


Found this picture in another thread… I think it should be required viewing for everyone who doesn’t want to work legs. Is this what you want to look like?

20

comedy. love it.