I am getting great hypertrophic results all over except in my lower abs. Does anyone know an exercise that will isolate the lower abs AND allow you to add heavy weight to the exercise?
Weighted hanging leg raises?
I don’t know how much your expecting your abs to grow, but I think you’re in for a surprise.
Better yet, try deadlifting.
Your problem probably isn’t a lack of hypertrophy, but an excess of fat.
Whenever I see people use the word “hypertrophy” or any form of it, I automatically assume they’re trying to sound smarter than they really are. It’s become quite the catch word in bodybuilding forums.
[quote]Stuntman Mike wrote:
Weighted hanging leg raises?
I don’t know how much your expecting your abs to grow, but I think you’re in for a surprise.
Better yet, try deadlifting.[/quote]
Hanging leg raises are good but hard to get much weight on them because your front hip flexors get involved too.
After several months of ab hypertrophy work, I have been successful in getting some good upper ab hypertrophy using weighted preacher crunches and oblique hypertrophy using dumbbell side bends. I just want my lower abs to catch up to my uppers and am having trouble isolating them.
Deadlifts are a staple of my workout plan. I love them and never lift without them. They have done some good things for my abs too
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Whenever I see people use the word “hypertrophy” or any form of it, I automatically assume they’re trying to sound smarter than they really are. It’s become quite the catch word in bodybuilding forums.[/quote]
Wow, just asked a simple question… Too bad people like to troll the forums and insult people rather than help them.
Isn’t the abdominal wall a single muscle seperated by tendons and that fat tends to be stored lower down hence covering up the lower abs? If so I think your problem may be that your bf% is slightly too high.
[quote]forlife wrote:
Your problem probably isn’t a lack of hypertrophy, but an excess of fat. [/quote]
That is a valid point to make but not the problem in this case. Just looking for a way to isolate the lower abs.
[quote]Webbykun wrote:
Isn’t the abdominal wall a single muscle seperated by tendons and that fat tends to be stored lower down hence covering up the lower abs? If so I think your problem may be that your bf% is slightly too high.[/quote]
I’m not asking how to get them more ripped. I’m just asking how to isolate them.
[quote]Sgt Subterfuge wrote:
That is a valid point to make but not the problem in this case. Just looking for a way to isolate the lower abs.[/quote]
How do you know that’s not the problem? Most people show top abs before bottom abs during the leaning out process, so it’s likely that your BF% is too high to show all six abs. I would focus on that more than on trying to isolate your bottom 2 abs through some voodoo exercise.
[quote]forlife wrote:
Sgt Subterfuge wrote:
That is a valid point to make but not the problem in this case. Just looking for a way to isolate the lower abs.
How do you know that’s not the problem? Most people show top abs before bottom abs during the leaning out process, so it’s likely that your BF% is too high to show all six abs. I would focus on that more than on trying to isolate your bottom 2 abs through some voodoo exercise. [/quote]
Maybe I’m not being clear here… I’m not trying to rip them out. I am trying to make them a ton stronger. That is really hard to do by losing body fat. You are talking about something totally different than what I am asking. That is how I know it is not the problem.
Additionally, I already have 6 abs showing, I’m working on the bottom 2 ie: 7 and 8.
[quote]Webbykun wrote:
Isn’t the abdominal wall a single muscle separated by tendons and that fat tends to be stored lower down hence covering up the lower abs? If so I think your problem may be that your bf% is slightly too high.[/quote]
No it is not a single muscle but rather a complex muscle system. It is impossible to isolate the entire abdominal rectus system because of the way it is ligamented to the rib cage and pelvis and how it interfaces with the other muscles around the mid-section. That being said, the method for attack on this muscle system is to break it down into functional parts and work the be-jesus out of them.
Again, I am not trying to rip them out. I am trying to build hypertrophy by isolating those muscles with a lot of weight and time under load. I am having a hard time targeting just those muscles because the front hip flexors are always getting too fatigued.
Your question has been answered. Your lower abs and upper abs are the same muscle, the whole muscle fires doing any crunch, plank, leg raises, etc. The only thing you can do is change whether the weight is pulled from the bottom or the top.
If you’re not worried about visual appearance, how do you know your bottom abs are so much weaker than your top abs? Again, if you’re trying to equate strength with whether or not you can visually see them, you’re missing the point.
[quote]Iron-Hoosier wrote:
Your question has been answered. Your lower abs and upper abs are the same muscle, the whole muscle fires doing any crunch, plank, leg raises, etc. The only thing you can do is change whether the weight is pulled from the bottom or the top.[/quote]
Apparently there is a lot of misunderstanding of how the abs work… The outside bicep is one muscle too but depending on how you isolate it you may get more hypertrophy at the bottom or the top of the muscle. You can also train insertion points of the muscles which is key in combat training.
No my question has not been answered to my satisfaction but thanks for trying.
[quote]forlife wrote:
If you’re not worried about visual appearance, how do you know your bottom abs are so much weaker than your top abs? Again, if you’re trying to equate strength with whether or not you can visually see them, you’re missing the point.[/quote]
x2
[quote]forlife wrote:
If you’re not worried about visual appearance, how do you know your bottom abs are so much weaker than your top abs? Again, if you’re trying to equate strength with whether or not you can visually see them, you’re missing the point.[/quote]
Dude, do you even lift weight? I know because I can do 240 lb preacher crunches with the upper abs and they are rock hard enough to take a full reverse punch from a 220 lbs martial artist. However, when someone gets me in a gut hook they easily overcome my lower abs. They aren’t nearly as strong.
I am not equating strength with whether or not I can see them. I don’t need to see them. I am trying to grow them and strengthen them. I never said ANYTHING about needing to be ripped or see them… I don’t get why yall keep going back to that. Getting ripped isn’t the only type of weight lifting out there.
Can you please just answer the question or don’t bother to post. You are questioning me rather than answering my questions.
[quote]jo3 wrote:
forlife wrote:
If you’re not worried about visual appearance, how do you know your bottom abs are so much weaker than your top abs? Again, if you’re trying to equate strength with whether or not you can visually see them, you’re missing the point.
x2[/quote]
The idiocy here is mind numbing…
[quote]Sgt Subterfuge wrote:
The idiocy here is mind numbing…[/quote]
Were the others worthy of receiving PMs as well?
So far Stuntman Mike is the only one that has tried to answer my question. Anyone else have any actual knowledge of how to do this or just self-serving bullshit?
I can’t figure out how to do it that is why I asked. If you don’t know how to isolate the lower abs then don’t bother posting here because it is seriously starting to make me lose confidence in the human race.