What Do You Do for Abs?

kneeling cable crunches and dragon flies on a decline bench

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]lemony2j wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
Lose bodyfat.[/quote]

I thought this was the case until I got really lean and realised my abs weren’t half what I thought they were. I did no direct ab work and I just thought heavy deads, squats, pull ups ohpressing all that stuff was enough… Turns out it wasn’t

Next cut I’m training abs, it’s a muscle it needs to be trained separately like everything else[/quote]

I couldn’t agree more. For YEARS I had the mentality that doing ab work would make the waist grow, and thus ruin the V-Taper. But this last year when I got REALLY lean I found out that my abs were wildly underdeveloped, especially the lower region. I had essentially zero body fat and didn’t have a six pack even then. This could potentially take YEARS to fix. Needless to say Ab training is now in my programming at all times.

Not only that, but it can’t possibly hurt the bigger lifts to have strong abs.

I know you cant isolate the upper or lower portions in any meaningful regard, but I do like to do a day of “lower” abs (Leg raises) and a day of “upper” abs (Weighted sit ups, cable curls), along with the Ab Wheel with a hold. Occasionally I’ll throw in some rotational stuff now like Band twists.

Bottom line is whether you train for looks or for function, Do NOT neglect ab training. You will be disappointed.[/quote]

Yes, the abs(hip flexion) is antagonistic to squatting and deadlifting. Neglecting hip flexion can cause imbalance(s) due to a weak antagonist, just like pressing(bench) will cause an imbalance if you neglect external rotation and shoulder extension(rowing.)

[quote]alexus wrote:
I got inspired by boxers / mma fighters. what does having a solid core mean? being able to take a punch to the guts, that’s what.

so there.

assume that position.

and then do stuff…

whatever stuff you like. you can squat and dead if you like. i like those. i also like rolling around on the floor. handstands. headstands. roll to headstand. pull-ups. all kinds of things… watch out for the unexpected punch to the guts…[/quote]

What the hell? None of these are direct ab exercises which is what he’s asking for. Also, rolling around on the floor? What does that do?

What I like to do is leg raises, followed immediately by bicycle crunches. Then I do V-ups and keep switching it for 10 sets. Sometimes I’ll throw in some planks too and maybe some normal crunches. Basically it’s correct what others have said, volume is where it’s at.

Hanging leg raises. Preferably weighted ones.

Cable rope crunches 4x10-15
Decline weighted sit ups 4x10-15
Hanging leg raises 4xAMRAP

Once a week.

Squats.

[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Cable rope crunches 4x10-15
Decline weighted sit ups 4x10-15
Hanging leg raises 4xAMRAP

Once a week.[/quote]

What’s AMRAP?

As many reps as possible

Don’t work abs unless your willing to give up a little size all around. Good abs worth a ransom can be had in 6 weeks if following the proper protocols. This is for the natural trainer, not hormone users

look up what a gymnast does…

[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
Don’t work abs unless your willing to give up a little size all around. Good abs worth a ransom can be had in 6 weeks if following the proper protocols. This is for the natural trainer, not hormone users[/quote]
What the heck did I just…? Explain, please…

[quote]DSSG wrote:

[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
Don’t work abs unless your willing to give up a little size all around. Good abs worth a ransom can be had in 6 weeks if following the proper protocols. This is for the natural trainer, not hormone users[/quote]
What the heck did I just…? Explain, please…

ElevenMag is a follower of Vince Gironda’s methods, so it’s probably a reference to that. Vince thought ab training interfered with something in the abdomen, the solar plexus. He said it regulated hormones that were responsible with for growth, and direct ab work can hinder that.

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]lemony2j wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
Lose bodyfat.[/quote]

I thought this was the case until I got really lean and realised my abs weren’t half what I thought they were. I did no direct ab work and I just thought heavy deads, squats, pull ups ohpressing all that stuff was enough… Turns out it wasn’t

Next cut I’m training abs, it’s a muscle it needs to be trained separately like everything else[/quote]

I couldn’t agree more. For YEARS I had the mentality that doing ab work would make the waist grow, and thus ruin the V-Taper. But this last year when I got REALLY lean I found out that my abs were wildly underdeveloped, especially the lower region. I had essentially zero body fat and didn’t have a six pack even then. This could potentially take YEARS to fix. Needless to say Ab training is now in my programming at all times.

Not only that, but it can’t possibly hurt the bigger lifts to have strong abs.

I know you cant isolate the upper or lower portions in any meaningful regard, but I do like to do a day of “lower” abs (Leg raises) and a day of “upper” abs (Weighted sit ups, cable curls), along with the Ab Wheel with a hold. Occasionally I’ll throw in some rotational stuff now like Band twists.

Bottom line is whether you train for looks or for function, Do NOT neglect ab training. You will be disappointed.[/quote]

i agree with this, when i got very lean for my show i realized i had very little ab developement, also i have a very tiny waist …i feel like if i improve my ab development i will:
Increase my lifts and add more muscle
improve the look of my mid section

V-ups 5x25
Weighted Crunches 3x10-15
Weighted decline situps 3x8-12
Weighted Hanging Leg raises 3x 8-12

2 x Per week.

Edit* heavy overhead press workout definitely gets my core fired.

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:

[quote]DSSG wrote:

[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
Don’t work abs unless your willing to give up a little size all around. Good abs worth a ransom can be had in 6 weeks if following the proper protocols. This is for the natural trainer, not hormone users[/quote]
What the heck did I just…? Explain, please…

ElevenMag is a follower of Vince Gironda’s methods, so it’s probably a reference to that. Vince thought ab training interfered with something in the abdomen, the solar plexus. He said it regulated hormones that were responsible with for growth, and direct ab work can hinder that. [/quote]

Spidey is correct DSSG, although not entirely. I sent you a pm since we are not allowed to link to other muscle sites on this forum. It will explain things entirely

[quote]ElevenMag wrote:

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:

[quote]DSSG wrote:

[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
Don’t work abs unless your willing to give up a little size all around. Good abs worth a ransom can be had in 6 weeks if following the proper protocols. This is for the natural trainer, not hormone users[/quote]
What the heck did I just…? Explain, please…

ElevenMag is a follower of Vince Gironda’s methods, so it’s probably a reference to that. Vince thought ab training interfered with something in the abdomen, the solar plexus. He said it regulated hormones that were responsible with for growth, and direct ab work can hinder that. [/quote]

Spidey is correct DSSG, although not entirely. I sent you a pm since we are not allowed to link to other muscle sites on this forum. It will explain things entirely
[/quote]

Care Share the knowledge? Id appreciate it if you would explain to me this Concept, it sounds very interesting.

Cable crunches -
Get on your knees and sit on your heels. Sit close to the weight stack and face away from the cable station.
Do 2 crunches focusing on crunching a little to the right using your right side abs and obliques, then do 2 crunches straight down/forward, then do 2 crunches focusing on crunching a little to the left using your left abs and obliques, then do 2 crunches straight down/forward. Keep doing this from right to left until you get 20 total reps.
Don’t relax your abs during the entire set. Squeeze your abs hard and hold each contraction for 2 full seconds.

Dragonflies -
If you can’t do full reps, at least do the negative portion of it very slowly.

[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Cable rope crunches 4x10-15
Decline weighted sit ups 4x10-15
Hanging leg raises 4xAMRAP

Once a week.[/quote]

If i recall you mentioned that you could count on one hand how many times you trained abs. Why the change?

[quote]optheta wrote:

[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Cable rope crunches 4x10-15
Decline weighted sit ups 4x10-15
Hanging leg raises 4xAMRAP

Once a week.[/quote]

If i recall you mentioned that you could count on one hand how many times you trained abs. Why the change?[/quote]

I have good abs genetically but if I want them to look the best they can look, it makes sense to train them directly. Plus doing so helps some of my other lifts like front squats.

Never could really “feel” cable crunches, either not enough weight or too much that my arms help too much. Tips anyone?

But +100 for decline weighted situps. Especially with the weight behind your head.

Also in the summer when I was leaning out, cable (wood) chops gave my mid-section a nice taper considering I’m a spare tire type gut vs pot belly…