Wednesday, 28 January 2009
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In Need Of Six-Pack Abs, How Do I Get Them?
My friend has been doing crunches for a week, and still doesn't see any results.
I tried to tell her how it takes at least a month, but she's a little disheartened.
Didn't Britney Spears do literally hundreds of crunches per day to achieve the washboard abs look? And, clearly, once you stop doing crunches, those abs disappear faster than you can down a cookie.
The one thing that actually helped me get abs (for the couple of months I kept it up) was Six Minute Abs. Laugh all you want, but the videos were great, and I loved how I was doing different types of crunches. It definitely varied things up (there were three different routines).
The closest thing I could find to Six Minute Abs on YouTube is actually the Britney Spears' Ab Workout (speak of the devil).I heard doing crunches on a big exercise ball is also quite effective.
Do you have any tips for toning your abs? What kind of crunches do you do? Do you use a particular workout video?
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Comments (26)
I know the crunches can't hurt in gaining muscle tone, but done incorrectly, they are prone to hurting your back. The best way to gain muscle on any part of your body is using the idea of muscle confusion. The problem with using the same exercise everyday for a certain muscle is that, eventually, your muscle gain will peak. To achieve maximum muscle, you need to constantly challenge your muscles.
So, crunches can be used the first three weeks or so. But right before they become too easy, switch to another exercise - maybe using a medicine ball, or a piece of gym equipment. The constant changing of the exercise will continually challenge your muscle, only continuing to make them stronger.I honestly need help with this. I've wanted a six pack for the longest time and have yet to get one.
Something that's kind of starting to show results two weeks in is getting ab straps and doing ab exercises from a pull-up bar.
That, and I do a bit of tumbling and martial arts, so that probably is helping a bit too =P
make sure you do cardio to get the fat layer off the abs. :) people forget that fat can just hide all your hard work. crunches are good but i LOATHE them and they hurt my back.. so for washboard abs I maintain a cardio routine, move my hips a lot for dancing.. or go lift weights with ab focused machines: Obliques, and leg press helps... do 2 sets for 20 on each side.. then increase weight until you can only 1 set of 10 (you have to be almsot grunting) Swimming definatley works the abs and tones them as you are constantly flexing and moving around using your core.. basically anything that works your core will help abs create... Walking and running are good for burning ab fat and bring out the muscle... Also make sure you eat more protein, less carbs, and a little amount of good fats with omega 3... I do cardio kickboxing and it works wonders as it focuses on core.
Always challenge your muscles and eat healthy, and stay active! Keep and maintain a consistent routine and change it up a bit when you get bored.. THeres many activities that work on Abs, not just crunches.... if you dont want to go exercise , make sure you are always moving.. like crunches or standing abs exercises during commercial breaks or while watching a movie, dance around, stand more than you sit, pace more than you stand, walk everywhere, take the stairs, and hula hoop/ play with kids... Hiking Works wonders too :) number one rule # consistency
drink water and watch the sodium and sugar intake as you can bloat, dont eat gassy foods too. Flex all the time and keep a good posture at all times.
LOL A WEEK??
The most effective ab workouts should each tire you within a minute. You shouldn't be doing 10 minutes of crunches, that is ineffective. The bicycle is the MOST effective.
rather than doing easy moves like the crunch, do something that requires weight. This way you BUILD MUSCLE. Add more weight to your work out the same way you would add weight to get bigger biceps. Also: eat 5 meals a day and eat VERY healthy.
Disclaimer: I don't have a 6 pack abs but from what ive read and observed these are the general suggestions.
Good luck!
Doing cardio everyday will also help. With ab workouts, you are working the muscles underneath but not burning the belly fat on top of the muscle. Cardio workouts will help to burn this body fat.
Ab Workout.
Some of these exercises tire me out within the first minute.
The key to seeing six pack abs is burning off the layers of fat on top of them. Almost anyone who does any type of ab exercise has a hidden six pack, it's just a matter of getting lean enough to see the abs. Proper diet and increased cardio work will help you more than doing millions of various ab exercises.
shaping up to get abs so soooo hard. this motivates me to do it
draw them on.
Don't forget that most crunches only target upper abs. Lower abs need to get some training as well. A weight machine at a gym would be your best bet for tone, at least in my experience. But you could also do some crunches, roman chairs, bicycles, stuff like that.
@abcxunt@xanga - rotfl my favorite response ever.
@abcxunt@xanga - lol
@TheSpaceBass@xanga - Completely agree. You can have the best six-pack in the world, but no one will know (not even you) if it's hidden under a layer of belly fat. You need to do cardio regularly to trim down on the fat so that you can see the shape of your sculpted abs underneath.
And yeah - it takes more than a week to get abs. You're right, you need at least a month, and maybe even more if you want to do cardio to trim down.
Focus on getting healthy, not just on getting abs! That way you'll stay motivated.
lifestyle change will get you a six pack. it doesnt happen over a week or a month.. its a commitment that will last a lifetime.
And once you do get abs... to really show them off carb cycle!
A lot of people can't see definition of their abs because of the bloat look around their belly.. and carb cylcing gets rid of it
@thepanged1@xanga - Sorry, I don't believe you. I run every day, swim every other day, I even ran a Marathon (26.2 miles) last year and I do not have a six pack yet. I have hardly any body fat at all. I am really close though... you do have to do an intense ab building program I think.
Dang, she musn't have had much will-power in the first place if she was disheartened by not seeing abs in a week. Plus she couldn't have had realistic ideas about when she'd see the results. I think one thing that would help is if she'd challenge herself. If she doesn't step it up once she gets comfortable with the routine, she's not challenging her muscles.
Well, when I did have awsome abs I had lost 20 lbs. and I excersized non-stop, for about a 2 months.
Just tell you friend that she has plenty of time before summer comes.
I wish my stomach looked like hers.
@PunkRockCowboy@xanga - If you are not taking in enough carbs and protein, with all of the running and swimming you are doing, perhaps your body is in a constant catabolic state. This would make building any substantial muscle, not just abs, a difficult if not impossible task. That's why I said proper diet with the cardio, in addition to some type of ab work is best. Most people in a quest for six pack are not looking for a bodybuilder-type bulging six pack, just one defined enough to see the outline of their abs.
In my opinion, guys can get and keep the six-pack look easier than girls, because I've only started with crunches and other exercizes in the past few monthes, and I'm seeing results much quicker than my sister. If you're a girl, you're going to have to work harder. But anyway.
I think you've got some decent advice here already, so there's no need for me to chime in.
I agree, if your body fat is high, no matter how hard you work your abs, you'll never visually see it.
I think thats why it is easier to see guys abs than women. Women tend to carry more fatty deposits around their stomach and hip area.
The exercise balls are awesome, and keeps you off the hard floors, and really ups your range of motion. I have also seen (but not done) ab workouts while sitting in a chair, was really cool.
I have the hip hop abs videos, and although you get bored with it pretty quick, the concept is killer! I also love turbo jam!
i have the same problem. i do cardio practically every day and some muscle confusion, but i haven't seen the results i want...however, when i stand up tall and suck in a little, i can see the muscle and poke it, lol...so i know it's there....i just need to get some fo the belly fat off...and these comments have really given me idea, thanks!
Try some cocaine that should do the trick.