trying to get ABS....

[longlegzs80]

I am not fat, but at the gym how many reps do you have to do on an ab machine to see results? I like am slowly but surely getting into going to the gym 3-4 times a week, so just wondering, how long do it take?

[molimo140]

Your abdominal muscles are under a layer of fat under your skin, the only way to make them apparent is to get rid of that layer of fat, or make it extremely thin.

 

The way to do this is to eat well and do cardio..the same formula as for losing weight.

 

Additionally you can do exercises that will make the muscles larger, but nothing huge. Sit-ups are good.

 

I wouldn't expect anything to happen for at least a month, especially if you have a decent amount of fat in that section of your body.

[Trialbyfire]

Yup, low-fat diet so you can get rid of the layer of fat. Every woman has it and it's almost impossible to get rid of, lol. I found that crunches work for me, although I still have about 1/4" of fat over my abs which I'm just not prepared to change my diet for. If it doesn't look like cottage cheese, I'm not that dedicated to it.

[stace79]

Yes, you have to have low body fat percentage for abs to really show. However my trainer says to do abs workouts EVERY DAY. He says even if you just do like 50-100 crunches a day even when you don't go to the gym, that's good.

 

At the gym, he has me do all sorts of different exercises to tone and work muscles from different angles, and you have three pairs of ab muscles...upper, lower and obliques (sides). There are certain exercises for each group.

 

I do regular situps on a bench at the gym, and then I also use an exercise ball (5 or 8 pounds)....hold it in front of you with your feet supported under the workout bench and rotate the ball first to one side, then to the other. Imagine you are handing the ball to someone behind you, then rotate to the other side. You can do this with a partner and actually hand them the ball. It works your obliques SO GOOD. I am always sore after that one no matter how much I do it.

 

Also one for the lower abs is to lay on a bench with your feet on the floor, knees bent 90 degrees. Place an exercise ball between your knees, and then keeping your knees bent with the ball in between, raise and lower your legs. This killed me the first few times I did it.

 

You can also do scissor kicks laying on the floor where you put your hands under your butt, raise your legs and alternate moving them vertically (like swimming) or horizontally with one leg over the other.

[RichC]

I have suggested this before: bodybuilding.com.

 

Its mostly diet. Don't treat them any differently than any other muscle group. Three sets of 20-50 reps crunches and good dieting is it.

[taiko]

I have suggested this before: bodybuilding.com.

 

Its mostly diet. Don't treat them any differently than any other muscle group. Three sets of 20-50 reps crunches and good dieting is it.

Speaking of body builders I thought that they were only in maximum picture taking shape in the few weeks before and after a competition. The rest of the year if they tried to keep their bodyfat low enough to show 6 packs then they couldn't get muscle growth.

 

At contest time body builders are tightly wound and near death to show that max human development. I remember an Egyptian body builder died about 10, 15 years ago right after he won a pro event and it wasn't from steriods it was the other stuff done to make those underlying mucsles stand out which killed him.

 

Is it really healthy to keep an extremely low bodyfat year round? When we watched the remake of Amintyville I thought something didn't look right. Then it hit me in the 70s nobody not even atheletes showed the abs and cuts that the lead actor and even teenaged boy singers do today. The only place you saw them were on Gov. Arnold and his body building buddies.

[RichC]

I don't know. They are at their lowest bodyfat at contest time only. Most of the time they carry maybe 6-10%. Extremely low bodyfat IS dangerous.

[taiko]

I know that's why I wonder if it is really healthy to have a 6 pack 365 days a year.

 

I would think that ex NBA players Karl Malone and Kevin Willis, known for their fitness and work ethics into their 40s, would allow their fat to go up in the off season when they where in the gym developing explosive power for the coming season.

[Guest]

A couple weeks back, I got alarmed when I looked in the mirror and saw a sort of beer belly appearing.

 

I havent done much since then, maybe 2 different ab workouts of 3 sets with 50 reps of regular crunches. Then, at the end when you're listening to your ipod or MP3 hold yourself up with your abs(like the top of a crunch) until the song is over.

 

Aside from that, I started eating a little healthier and did cardio maybe 3 times and I have a sort of appearing tupac lol. Okay this is going to sound really retarted but...for the cardio part I did dancing. Like, no dance class stuff or anything. Just have your music on when you do your cardio and do a bunch of crazy moves, but try concentrating it on swirling your abs and whatnot. It'll help you a lot.