The famous question - Perfect ABS.

[JAYBE]

Hello,
I hope you can help.

I have read numerous posts with guys asking the question ' how to get 6 pack abs'

I workout 5 days a week, i have my routine pretty much nailed.

I am getting bigger, BUT the abs are not getting defined.
I think this will be due to my % of body fat?

What are the best ways to lose the fat around the abs.
Im pretty athletic, i run marathons etc

Will running, and lots of it... be the only way to trim the fat around the abs?
Or will constant sit ups/abs exercises be the only way forward?

I just need some sort of direction with this, i do Abs at the gym on Tuesdays and thursdays... this involves planks, side planks, sit ups, modified sit ups etc the basics.

Would upping this routine help?
Or weight loss training?

Thanks.

 

[Adumb]

Are you seeing fat loss right now from your running? Or do you feel that you have plateaued to a certain extent? If so, I would mix in either circuit training or high intensity interval training (HIIT), or both. HIIT basically consists of intervals of sprint and jog, and of course can be adapted for a lot of different equipment. It's really hard to give you a straight answer. My stepbrother ran cross country in highschool and he did 500 crunches a night (with different variations of course) and had a ripply 8-pack, but of course he was 16 at the time and had a pretty quick metabolism.

I on the other hand am anti-running, haha. At my job, I'm a valet. I run all of the time, or at least a jog between vehicles. After doing this for almost 4 years, it's hard on my knees. Not really the running, but the constant turns and weaving between vehicles that can cause some problems. So I avoid as a fat loss scheme. However, I do use a stepper. I also jump rope and do circuit training for my cardio. Jump roping aligns with HIIT, where as the stepper I usually do a straight constant pace for 30 minutes, 4 days a week. I make sure to watch my diet as well. I've put on a lot of fat over the past couple of years as I have been out of the game for awhile, but I can still see my packs. This is due to working my abs 3-4 days a week as a beginner. My abs seemed to have stuck with me more than anything.

If you don't already do strength training, I would recommend it. By becoming more muscular, you naturally burn more fat, for all activities. Also, watch your diet. I think diet holds more than 50% of fat loss goals, and of course abs are one of the last places where you lose fat.

Sorry about the long post, I hope I helped more than I confused. Good luck!

 

[Goldfish]

Hello,
I hope you can help.

I have read numerous posts with guys asking the question ' how to get 6 pack abs'

I workout 5 days a week, i have my routine pretty much nailed.

I am getting bigger, BUT the abs are not getting defined.
I think this will be due to my % of body fat?

What are the best ways to lose the fat around the abs.
Im pretty athletic, i run marathons etc

Will running, and lots of it... be the only way to trim the fat around the abs?
Or will constant sit ups/abs exercises be the only way forward?

I just need some sort of direction with this, i do Abs at the gym on Tuesdays and thursdays... this involves planks, side planks, sit ups, modified sit ups etc the basics.

Would upping this routine help?
Or weight loss training?

Thanks.

RE: bolded. No, and no.

Running =/= fat loss. Ab exercises =/= fat loss.

You're probably not going to get any more definition around the abs until you stop bulking and start cutting. In fact, so long as you keep on bulking, you will probably continue to increase bodyfat% as a necessity to keep the calories coming for increased muscle growth, so you may even lose definition for the time being.

So set a priority. Which is more important right now? Building muscle, or having defined abs? To be fair, if you build muscle properly, then (assuming you're reasonably new to training), you could bulk continually for about 2 years without doing any cutting, and you'd have built up a lot of muscle and a lot of strength. So long as you stay under 20% bodyfat, you'll still be healthy and won't look too fat - just no visible abs. Then cut down, just losing 1lb fat/week, and once you reach 12% bodyfat, you'll probably have a visible 4-pack, and at 8-10% you should have a 6-pack.