The definitive thread for Abs!

[Parm]

Abs, everybody wants them but very few get them.

I'm working hard on mine but I think I could use some extra tips.
I workout three times a week and my workout includes two Ab excercises:
3 sets of 15 reps on an abdominal crunch machine with the weight at 50Kg.
2 sets of 15 reps ball crunch.

I'm finding that my abs are definately a lot firmer, I just need to shed the extra bit of fat on top of them. I'm working on it and I'm happy with my progress.
I think with time my abs will be well visible *fingers crossed*.

Whilst I'm doing all this, what else can be done to help the process?
I've read on a few places that there are a lot of simple things you can do such as sitting in a certain way or tensing your abs from time to time and holding them tensed for a minute or so.

Does anybody here have any tips?

[Dorza]

It doesn't matter how much exercise you give your abs, if theres fat in front of them they won't show through like you want them to, its as simple as that. I've read and heard from many sources that you need to be roughly 10% or less body fat (on average) to be in with a chance of getting good abs.

[0iD]

Yep good abs is as much to do with losing fat than exerciseing them. You have to be so strict with your diet & on non gym days try going for a good hard run/cycle/walk/swim to burn those extra cals!

[Parm]

Yup, fat and abs really don't go well together hehe.

But I'm definately working on that, my belly is getting smaller all the time. I'm really happy with my progress so far.
I swim for about an hour 3 times a week too.

I've no idea what percentage body fat I actually have, how would I calculate that?
The rest of me is actually generally skinny, I think my arms and legs could do with fattening up a bit but all my fat seems to go straight to the belly.

[Brocken]

when you get to the point where you can pretty much do crunches endlessly try doing some weighted crunches. Grab a 10kg weight and hold it to your chest whilst you do them.

[sunnyg]

i do pressups every day as i don't have access to a gym. is there a point where i can do too many, and will my abs ever show.

i assume to get muscle down there you need to use wheights.

[Theo]

Press ups will work your chest/arms, not your abs

As has already been said, most abs won't show unless your BF% is less than 10%. You should be able to get measurements at your gym, if not - buy a set of calipers and get a friend to do your measurements for you.

Sort your diet out properly, and I don't mean just "healthy" meals. I mean 5-8 meals per day, carbs in the morning and post-workout. Lots of chicken and brocolli, etc. Do weights 3 days per week and low-intensity cardio 3-5 times a week.

With weights, concentrate on one particular function per session. e.g. Biceps/Back/Shoulders on day one, Legs on day three, triceps/chest on day five.

[mgt]

Good advice there about the 5-8 meals a day, worked well for me.

I would suggest that you are trying to do two seperate things at once, build muscle - which requires an excess number of calories, and lose fat - which requires a calorie deficit.

I believe you can only do one thing at a time (to a good standard).

If it was me, in fact this is pretty much what i did, i'd do the following.

Buy some tanita body monitoring scales which give a variety of readouts including body fat, water percentage, percentage body fat etc.

Focus on reducing your body fat percentage (make sure you take the mesaurement at the same time each week), the easiest way to do this is as many cardio sessions as you can manage a week (I found early morning before any food the best for fat burning) with 3 weights sessions as well.

Split your body into different muscle groups for the weight sessions as theo said above.

When you reach around 10-11% body fat on the scales I would suggest it is time to start making an effort to actively build muscle. You can cut the cardio down at this stage and focus on lifting more weights (heavier weights) and eating slightly over the calories you require during a day. This doesnt mean junk food unfortunately!

High quality protein is your friend! Think about the meals you have in a day and ask if you are getting a good amount of protein with each one.

Meal ideas:

3 egg white 1 egg yolk omelette.
Porridge for breakfast with skimmed milk and almonds
Apple with half fat cheese for a snack
Peanut butter as a treat (high fat but not bad fat)
Chicken stir fry
Turkey with brown rice
Extra lean steak in a brown pasta spaghetti bolognaise

That was a really quick outline, any questions let me know.

I got down to 10.5% body fat doing this with visible "six-pack" abs.

Any questions let me know, i'd like to here what worked for other people as well...

[mgt]

Forgot to add:

try and replace refined carbs such as white bread, white rice and normal pasta with unrefined ones.

e.g. swap white bread for wholemean bread, pasta for wholewheat pasta, white rice for brown or wild rice.

I also found quinoa good as it is a seed rather than a grain. It can be found in large supermarkets and health food shops.

[Parm]

Thanks for all the great tips! There's certainly a lot more to it than meets the eye!

My diet has certainly improved but I'm sure there are still a few changes I could make.
I usually eat 3-4 times a day.
Changes I've made:
Only eat brown bread
Only use skimmed milk
Eat plenty of fruit and veg
Avoid junk food!

I think I need to get one of those scales that'll measure my body fat percentage.
I only weigh 12 stone at the moment, I think that's actually less than my ideal weight, I'm 6'3" tall.

[harry1]

skinny boy ^^ im 13.5 stone and im 6.1

not fat though

[mgt]

If you get into cardio outside the gym, it might be worth investing in a good chest strap heart rate monitor.

I use a polar F6 at the moment and its perfect for letting you know what sort of range you are training in.

Just a thought

[Parm]

If you get into cardio outside the gym, it might be worth investing in a good chest strap heart rate monitor.

I use a polar F6 at the moment and its perfect for letting you know what sort of range you are training in.

Just a thought

Cardio inside the gym is enough for me right now!

[Bluecube]

I think I need to get one of those scales that'll measure my body fat percentage.
I only weigh 12 stone at the moment, I think that's actually less than my ideal weight, I'm 6'3" tall.

I think you'll find you've already got a low body fat %age if you're 12 stone at 6' 3"!! I'm 5' 11" and am just under 13 stone. I wouldn't say it was all muscle but I look good

[Parm]

It's pretty strange. I think my ideal weight would be around 14 stone, judging by my height.
At 12 stone most of me is slim but I definately have a belly.

But how does one put on weight in other areas without it going straight to the belly?

[Parm]

I had a little test done on me at the gym last week and here are the results:

Body Fat percentage: 21% (recommended range: 12-18%)
Fat Weight: 16-18kg (recommended range: 13-15kg)
Lean Weight: 63.2kg (recommended range: 61-65kg)
Total Body Weight: 80kg (recommended range: 75-77kg)
Water: 49.5% (recommended range: 55-66%)
Total Body Water: 39.6lbs (recommended range: 44-52lbs)
Estimated metabolic rate at rest: 1940 Kcal
Extimated average energy required: 3104 Kcal

So, the results are in and I was fairly happy with them. My body fat is only a few percent over the recommended now. I'd like to drop say another 5% and I'd be chuffed with that. The amount of water in me is a little lower than it should be so I gotta take in more water.

I've also had a lot of my workouts out the gym revamped so there's a lot more variation now and more excercises concentrating on certain areas. It's murder but hopefully it pays off in the end.