Abs help (Pictures included)

T

tqb

0
Hey there,
thank you for taking the time to read this. Alright im sure plenty of people ask questions related to abs so im sorry if this is repetitive.Ive been working out since last summer, im 18 133 lbs 5'9. I work out 3-4 times a week... usually work my abs on at least 2 of my off days, maybe more, or when im at the gym. So i notice recently i can see my abs when i pull my stomach down some.. and its not like the perfect abs but they still make me excited, i posted some pictures to show you guys. Any advice on how to make it so i dont have to pull my skin down to see them? And/or define them more, they're hard to see in some light. Oh and i'm diabetic so my diet is pretty good to begin with. thanks!







oh ps. if you're wondering what my ab work out is. My main course consist of sit ups, crunches, leg lifts, captain's chair's leg lifts, bicycle maneuver, and weighted sit ups. Thanks!
 
Lower Body fat.
 
There's a few things you can do...

If you want your abs to be constantly showing you will have to get VERY low body fat. It will be a lot of incredibly hard work and in my opinion SHOULD NOT be your goal right now.

In my opinion you should concentrate on building muscle tissue right now before you start trying to get incredibly lean.

I think your way too skinny (or not muscular enough) to be trying to lose fat right now.

Let me know what you will do...
 
thank you for your reply. how do i build ab muscles? just the regular ab workouts? or should i do more weighted things?
 
tqb said:
thank you for your reply. how do i build ab muscles? just the regular ab workouts? or should i do more weighted things?
Click to expand...

I was talking about building muscle body wide, not just abdominal muscles..

to answer your question: You gotta progressively load your muscles with more weight/reps, etc...
 
tqb said:
thank you for your reply. how do i build ab muscles? just the regular ab workouts? or should i do more weighted things?
Click to expand...

I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Don't focus on muscle, but movement patterns.

Probably the most intense ab work I have ever done has been band-resisted front squats with kettlebells! Work your transverse plane. Quit doing crunches and all that other stuff. Just use your abs with the rest of your body on big movements and they will show up just fine, plus they'll do more than just look good, they'll do their job in stabilizaing your trunk and protecting your back.
 
Well, if your diet is already good, like you said.

Then, you need to work on lowering your body fat. How?

- As before mentioned diet

-Build muscle by strength training

-Cardio, but don't waste your time with low-intensity cardio

Finally, strengthen your ab muscle with a variety of exercises, so once you lower your body fat. You'll have defined abs!
 
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realworksuks said:
There's a few things you can do...

If you want your abs to be constantly showing you will have to get VERY low body fat. It will be a lot of incredibly hard work and in my opinion SHOULD NOT be your goal right now.

In my opinion you should concentrate on building muscle tissue right now before you start trying to get incredibly lean.

I think your way too skinny (or not muscular enough) to be trying to lose fat right now.

Let me know what you will do...
Click to expand...

exactly what i was gonna reply. just hit compound movements and train your abs like any other muscle. Just remember, you will need to be in a calorie surplus to build muscle. so you will be gaining weight. Rep +1
 
tqb said:
would it make sense to get my body fat low first and get the abs to show, then bulk up?
Click to expand...


man 133 is way too skinny. if your bf goes lower you are going to risk being even worse. plus if you dont have muscle down there then nothing is going to show anyways. Just bulk up first. get more ab muscles, then cut and you will be even more happy.
 
yeah im not so sure that my body fat is really 8% i didnt really trust the trainer at school who did it.. Know where i can get an accurate test?
 
update, i used an online body fat calculator with my tape measure, and it said my body fat is about 17%
 
Sounds a bit too high, and can't really tell with your pictures because of the lighting.
I'd say more around 13-15% but i ain't no expert.
 
have you tried planks and side planks? There are some studies out recently that say they are one of the most effective exercises for the abs
 
hey man, i dont know why ur semi braging about these supposed "abs". not to be a prick but you not really hav anything, concentrate more on eating right than hardcore ab workouts and you might get a bit further. im 16 and to put it lightly my abs rape urs. haha, sorry bro buts it the truth. keep at it though

- The only way is up
 
bulkin-it-up-baby :P said:
hey man, i dont know why ur semi braging about these supposed "abs". not to be a prick but you not really hav anything, concentrate more on eating right than hardcore ab workouts and you might get a bit further. im 16 and to put it lightly my abs rape urs. haha, sorry bro buts it the truth. keep at it though

- The only way is up
Click to expand...

My, that was rude. He wasn't bragging about his abs at all, he's excited because he's seeing progress, I don't see anything wrong with that.

And, I'm only 17 but what I've found from my research is that abdominal exercises usually don't really help that much in getting your abdominal muscles to show, the important thing is for you to make sure that you have a low body fat percentage and that you're eating right, abs are "made in the kitchen."

The other thing that doing some research has told me is that compound exercises are much better for your abs than working them directly, IE doing deadlifts is better than doing crunches, because deadlifts work more of your body including your abdominal muscles and burn more calories at the same time.

The best thing for you to do to get cut is to make sure you're doing more work. And work doesn't mean how much it hurts a particular muscle, I mean the scientific definition of work, force times distance. More mass times more movement means more work which in turn means more energy/calories used.

Oh and cut down on simple carbohydrates, me, I have trouble with this one because bread is seriously like my favourite food, hahaha, but I'm lucky I like whole grain and multigrain bread :)

Just a tip: Whole wheat? Doesn't mean crap! It's hardly any better for your body than white bread, what you need to look for is whole grain bread. Whole grain bread means that the bran and the germ is still included in the grain, therefore you're getting all the fibre and nutrition that is cut out when it's being processed.

Pick up a bag of whole grain bread and compare the nutrition to that of whole wheat bread, you'll find that the nutrition facts list is MUCH longer because there are far more vitamins and minerals contained in the whole grain bread.

White bread is nothing but starch and a simple sugar that your body absorbs in 3 seconds, which is why after you eat it you feel hungry in ten minutes.

Oh and if you want a snack, go for Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop popcorn in the 100 calorie pre-portioned bags, it's got a ridiculous amount of fibre in it, because believe it or not, popcorn is actually a whole grain and super healthy for you as long as you don't load it with butter and salt.

I hope I helped a bit :)



Also: Are you sure you weigh 133 lbs? Judging from your pictures it seems you have some excess body fat on your stomach, curious, have you done any weight training before?

I've seen people that weigh 140lbs at the same height that are much leaner, of course that could be attributed to muscle mass as well.
 
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