Mike, Uhh duhhh never mind. I just went to www.libertarian.com and read up on it. My friends are right they have some pretty cool things to say. Sorry I should have looked before I asked.
Good point.
Sorry Ironbabe, i should have looked more closely at who wrote the post. I just assumed it was a guy. Oh, if a women ever looks like goldberg, let me know, lol. again, sorry babe, iron that is.
Ironbabe, the 6-pack is my current quest. Yes, I will be a scrawny bastard by the time I obtain them, but it’s a goal that I need to achieve just once, and then I can move on to getting massive. It’s probably more sacrifice than trying to bulk! Any oh man is a six-pack sexy on a girl … but so is a flat, somewhat defined one as well. It all depends how it complements the rest of you figure. But, if I were you (I’m sure your diet is in check) I would go heavy on the weights during your ab movements and try to get them as big as possible. Mine are starting to peak only after doing GVT2000 type movements … good 10 sets of 10 for the muscle group.
Hehe Ironbabe, I thought your response was funny. Its great to be able to tell went someone is in A MOOD (as in watch out!)even over the internet. I agree that we are genetically predisposed to store fat in certain areas. I am naturally lean, and I have always had a flat stomach with at least a 2 pack, even in High School.Girls would come up to me and ask what kind of sit-ups I was doing (none) and that was long before I started lifting and I now have a 4-6 pack depending. BUT I was also called bubble butt in H.S. cause that is where I store my fat (although not in my legs, thank god) So my experience has been that I can’t quite cut up my butt without losing a lot of fat elsewhere, including my breasts, and when I get that low I look drawn and stringy. The good news is that every time I have cut fat that low, as long as I don’t let myself pork out in the “off” season, in the next diet cycle it comes off a little faster in the area I want without affecting the rest of me so drastically. So I say with time you can beat nature, but it can be a slow process. Just keep on keeping on.
Another good site is lp.org, the official site of the Libertarian Party. Read their platform for a good overview of libertarian ideals. Basically, if you want complete control over your own body and the products of your labor, and are willing to take responsibility for the choices you make, then you’ll like libertarian philosophy. On the other hand, if you want the government to own your body and the products of your labor, and want the government to make your choices for you, then libertarianism is not for you.
If you really want to find out some good libertarian stuff, visit mises.org or lewrockwell.com. Great sites.
Hey Ironbabe, give 'em hell! I think a six pack on a “babe” is very sexy indeed; not only does it look great, but in most cases it tells me something about their discipline and work ethic. But the genetics can get in the way, no doubt about it. By August last summer I had a decent six pack, but had leaned out a bit too much from a muscle tissue standpoint for my tastes (it’s from the biking). On the other hand, my wife likes my bod best when it’s leaner like that, so I’m a winner both ways. Try to keep leaning out in cycles, as you should slowly get leaner each time.
Yuck! I hate prominent abs on women. Same goes with vascularity. If a woman is walking around with viens popping out everywhere…ewww. That is definetly too lean to me. A flat tummy with maybe a hint of ab lines is sexy. Then again we all have different tastes. I would be more worried about possible health issues, as mentioned above. Perhaps, one of our resident Tmag staff can address the issue of bodyfat being too low and at what point is too low. If they haven’t already that is.
ironbabe, it’s complete BS that your genetics can keep you from getting a six-pack, something like 50% of the US population is overweight and scientists blame genetic and gene predisposals to weight gain…it’s a load of crap…people are just lazy and uncommitted and want to blame something other than themselves…“ooh it’s not my fault I’m fat I was born with these genetics…yeah and I’ll take 3 Big Macs with extra cheese and bacon, and supersize the frys…ohh and don’t forget the diet coke…” your genetics can make it much harder for you than the average person. but don’t buy into the “u can’t achieve the body you want” gene… it’s just science trying to console the fat public…like what happened, the 90’s hit and suddenly half the population got the fat gene mutation…I don’t think so. currently I’m 5.0% bodyfat and I still don’t have a six-pack because I tend to carry most of my left over fat around my midline HOWEVER my shoulders actually have the striations of of someone about to step on stage for a contest…so again it just shows genetics. Also you can only diet for so long. I dieted for 12 weeks and hit 5% without to much trouble and no carb restriction. now my last 3 weeks of dieting have been perfect but my body will not budge lower, so now I’m gonna try to add 10 pounds of muscle without any fat over the next 12 weeks, thereby lowering my bodyfat by proportion. also after a 12 week break I may be able to lose that last bit of fat around my waist. people have to realize that everything occurs in steps, even if you are in great shape that still may not be enough to get six pack…however think of what you’ve accomplished up till now as you preping your body to give up that last big of fat, I’d recommend laying off dieting for 6 weeks and just try to maintain your weight, maybe add a little muscle then pick it back up. thats my best advice, good luck and don’t get discouraged cause it may take a few more months to get their but you’ll have a long like to enjoy it once you do.
-Dozer
I’m the one to blame for bringing aesthetics into the discussion. Having seen where that’s gone, I’m sorry I did it. Ironbabe, if I remember right, you’re 5’11" and 135lbs. That’s pretty light for that height. Have you had your bf% checked? I’m thinking, from those stats, that you’re fairly thin-boned, and fairly low bf% anyway. Am I right? I think you should get your bf% checked by some one QUALIFIED to do the test, and if it shows up on the south side of, say, 15%, you’re probably about as far as you should go without some other more long-lasting effects. Just something that cam to mind a little while ago.
Ironbabe - what kind of ab training do you do? If your bodyfat % is already pretty low, doing heavy, low-rep ab work may help increase the size of each “individual” ab (kinda a misnomre since thy’re not really separate) and create the illusion of more pronounced, uh, ab-ness. I think Kelly Baggett alluded to this in his (her?) post.
dozer - I hear you… I’m about done with the cutting phase right now. I was forced out of GVT and massive eating by deep and infected cut on my foot that didn’t allow me to work out very efficiently. I dieted since I had nothing else I could really do. Now that the second round of antibiotics are done, the little red line stemming from the wound is gone, and I can walk again, I am going to get back to the business of putting some more muscle on. Right before the end of august, when I have promised to put my pic up, I will cut again. Will I hit my abs by that point? Doubtful. But I will hit them before the end of the year. If I don’t like what I look like when I get my six pack, I can eat some dougnuts and enjoy “having” to put on fat.
brider - My weight fluctuates between 135 and 138 at my height of 5'11. My bodyfat (as measured by that 7 point caliper test online) is around 13%. I do have very small bones, actually they are ranked as extra small to small. After way too many broken bones as a kid the doc nic named me "bird bones". Said I had the smallest bones he'd ever seen. Right now I am going to just focus on getting some more lean mass on me, and try cutting again later. I have no health problems right now with my low BF level, and even if I had to stop here, I'm very happy with what I see in the mirror.
to anonymous poster - Aug 31st my pic will be up and you can critique me then. If you wanna call me "fatty" or anything else, do it then. At least you will have something to go on.
IronBABE (I luv it!)…you can do it, girlfriend! This has actually been a decent and entertaining discussion…but I don’t think enough has been said about ab training. A lot of trainees go at abs unlike any other muscle group (ie. everyday, supa high reps, etc). I do think genetics play a role in achieving the ultimate six-pack, but I don’t think everyone is doomed to not get the sixer (it’s just the sacrifices for some are greater and the cost may be greater than the benefit).
Dozer…great post, brutha! I’m loving this guy. I’m pretty much on the same boat as you, big guy, struttin’ with around 5% and those bottom two abs (especially the bottom left) just don’t want to pop out–almost looks like a five-pack. I’m not bullshittin’ about the BF either (ask Nate Dogg), I could not only probably be used as a model in an anatomy/physiology course, but more likely could audition for one of those Sally Struther/Ethiopian commercials:-) BTW, Dozer, I like the diet plan, as that is quite similar to what I’m doing==>trying to gain some w/o adding “much” if any chub.
BTW, anyone have any gut-bustin' ab workouts they'd care to share? I have a few if anyone is interested:-)
Post 'em Timbo! As I said, I’m ready to put on some more muscle since I’ve lost too much dieting. Feeling my abs right now (through the bf), I’d have to say the serrations are much less deep than they were two months ago. This could be a good bit of my problem. I hate losing muscle when I diet, but I just can’t help but be extreme in almost everything I do. Alright, I’m gonna attack my abs and eat well and see if next cut I find those abs. Thank you everyone for your responses, and thank you knuckledragger for letting the argument end nicely. I definetly see you in a better light now. No hard feelings here.
Ironbabe- I have the same problem as well but it is in my arms. It is real hard for me to get any good definition in them. Anyway, just recently I completely changed my diet- instead of trying to lose bodyfat (which I think I probably spend too much time doing) I started the massive-eating program and started both Ian King’s upper and lower body Bring the Pain programs. So far I am only two weeks into it but have really noticed a drop in body-fat- my arms have never looked better- and I am eating much more than usual. My weight hasn’t changed much so I am assuming I am putting on muscle. So hopefully this will give you a little encouragement as well. Also, I assumed the ‘fatty’ comment was a joke. Was it meant otherwise? How random.
First off, IronBabe, those are some mighty, mighty impressive numbers you put up there, and you should be awful proud:-) A couple other numbers that I–and surely other T-men–would like to see are: phone, age, address…naw, I’m just playin’ with ya!
Okay, there's really no science behind my ab training...I just like to bust those muthas! I do need some help hitting the lower abdominal region though. But here's some of the stuff I like. These are mainly supersets: 1a. Weighted Swiss Ball Crunches (slow eccentric, and hold it on the last couple reps for a few seconds), 1b. Lying Leg Raises, 1c. Knee Pullins; 2a. Cable Crunches, 2b. Hanging Knee/Leg Raises, 2c. Incline Knee Pullins, 2d. Back Extensions; My Favorite: 3a. Russian Twists, 3b. Side Bends on Back Extension bench. Those are just a few supersets. But basically I'll just throw 3 or 4 exercises together. Basically everything is weighted and I try to not exceed 15 reps, though sometimes I'll go crazy. But I do think you should do some heavy sets (6-8 reps) and focus on the eccentric. Go get 'em, girl!