The Basics to Perfect Abs

Can juz situps and 2x 25 side situps build abs??

What is declined crunches? Can juz 40x2 situps and 25x2 side situps build abs??

Is doing weighted abs exercises imperitive to getting a six pack faster?  It's because I only go to the gym once a week, and the rest of the time I have to do exercises at home.
 
This is my 'noobish' though burning abs workout :
 

50 crunches
25 side crunches (each side)
[repeat both above]
 
20 swiss ball sit-ups
20 v-raises
10 leg raises
10x2 reverse crunches
100 bicycle
 
20 crunches
20 side crunches (each side)

 
I eat quite clean, but only 3 meals a day [I'll try to stretch to 4] - I know it's optimal to have about 5-6 for some reason I've forgotten lol...
 
Well I just to improve my home abs workout first... so if anyone can help me (I know it needs a lot of improvement) - I'll greatly appreciate it :)
 

 

[img]http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1614/flashingfranro0.gif[/img]

15 years old
5' 9"
57 kgs / 125 pounds (yeah I'm a skinny c***)
yeah!!!

First off, let me say, I was JUST LIKE MOST PEOPLE HERE. The basis to build perfect abs does not just rely on you TRAINING YOUR ABS. Hmm. I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Yes, these exercises will work. Yes, you will get some definition. But these so called "Perfect Abs" comes through NOT just training your abs boys!

Here, I got some pics for examples.

Alright, so this is me before I started not focusing on JUST MY ABS! I've grown now and realize that you need to do a full body workout, trust me, in the long run that's what you'll want.



As you can see, some definition, a 4 pack, and that's ALL I WAS GETTING! Nothing more. I have the same routine now as I did back then, just more intense. These are my abs now.



So I'm gonna say it again. If you want perfect abs, do a full body workout. It's better for balance, so you don't have abs you could grate cheese with and arms that would snap if the wind blew. And trust me, ladies love the arms.
 
And for those of you losing weight, and have extra fat to burn off. I hate to tell you guys, but you can do all the intense, burning ab workouts you want, but that's not gonna remove the fat. The only way you can do that is CARDIO and DIET. The key to perfect abs is CARDIO, DIET and COMMITMENT.
 
I guess you guys'll wanna see my routine now hey.
 
Alright, This is ALL I do for my abs, after each workout. (I go to the gym 4-5 times a week.)
 
30 secondsof each exercise (Which will end up being anywhere from 25 - 30 reps, so I'm just gonna say that.)
 
30 Crunches
30 Side to Side Crunches
30 Side to Side Crunches (Each side.)
30 V Sits (One of the best exercises for abs, although one of the hardest.
DON'T SKIP THIS ONE!)
30 Leg Lifts
30 Toe Touches
30 Bum Raises (Laying on floor, legs are 90 degrees with hips, bent 90 degrees. Lift your bum off the floor USING YOUR ABS. Focus on the contraction of your abs, try not to use the momentum to lift your bum off the floor.)
30 seconds V Hold (Same as V sit, just hold the contracted position for 30 seconds.)
1 minute 30 seconds of Bridge (This works your abs HARD if you don't cheat, core stabilitiy.)
1 minute hold Side Bridge (Using your forearm and your bottem foot, hold yourself up. Same as bridge, except you're on your side and this is working your OBLIQUES, one of the key factors in perfect abs.)
1 minute hold Side Bridge other side.
 

I'm sure he meant for these exercises to be a part of a full body workout.
 
Why such high reps? I wouldn't go over 20 at most, if you can I would add a 10 or 25 behind your head. You're also doing them too often, you would see more improvement if you stoped over training them. you've done a good job but I realy think you would see better gains from reducing the times a week you do them to 2 and keep the reps and number of exercises down. You're doing more then what's necessary.
 
You're right about the diet and cardio, most anyone on this site will tell you the same. You can't spot reduce fat by working that area.
 
Congrats on the progress, great abs.

Blake
Age 19
Hieght ~5'10.5"
Weight ~196
Bench ~275
Squat ~390
Dead Lift ~375
MilitaryPress ~200
Hang Clean ~205
6-17-07
Put this in your profile if you or someone you know is fighting, has survived, or has died in a pokemon battle

Hey i need some tips.

My name is Mark, im 14 years old and i weigh like 160 pounds, 5'9-5'10. i got a flat stomach right now. I JUST started wanting to work out. What i do to try to get abs is i do running for maybe 2 miles then i do something my couch at school calls Militaries? anyways when i work out my abs all i do is like: Crunches 15reps 2 sets. Sit ups 15reps 2sets. then maybe 10 toe touchers. and like 5 reverse crunches. is that enough? and im just starting to watch my eating.

oh also my BF% is like 23 :\

First of all, if you really want to see those abs man, you HAVE to get your BF down. Do all the gutwrenching, painful situps you want, but unless you have a low body fat percentage, Your abs will always be hidden underneath your fat! So the best possible thing for you to do, is get your heart rate up. Do some cardio, run a couple miles, skip, get on a stationary bike etc, etc. You need to become more active so you can get your BF% down. And as for how many crunches, situps you do, that's all up to you. Do it until you can feel the burn, quite literally, they didn't just make that saying up.  Some people say you shouldn't go above 20 reps, but hey, each to his own right. Look at my routine, and look at my abs.

5'11
165 pounds
200 pound Bench Press
4.9 40 yard dash
13.5" arms

Goals:
185 pounds
225 pound bench press
4.7 40 yard dash
14.5" arms

TIME!?! 12 weeks.

yea well i am getting lots of cardio, im on the track team. infact one day i rain so much when i got home my front neck and chest started to hurt. is that bad or good? when i swallowed or whatever my chest and throat hurt.

LOL definatley not good bro.
If your legs were so tired you could hardly walk. That's a good pain. If you swallow and it hurts more than sex, definatly a bad thing man haha, maybe you're not breathing right. In through your nose, out through your mouth. This'll reduce cramps too.

5'11
165 pounds
200 pound Bench Press
4.9 40 yard dash
13.5" arms

Goals:
185 pounds
225 pound bench press
4.7 40 yard dash
14.5" arms

TIME!?! 12 weeks.

hey guys, i see a number of you guys say rest between sets. is there a reason for this? does it make a differnce on tone and defention or is just because of fatigue. cuase i can do a bunch of different types of ab crunchs almost nonstop.

Hello i am 15 years old and i recently had cancer but i am pretty much on the recover now and i want to start training again i want to get 6pack and pecks and also i want to get back my legs muscles and arm muscles could someone please give me some exercise suggestions on what i should do.
And could you explain the excersice aswell so like if you say (bench) could you explain it to me thanks

I used to do: 30 crunches with legs raised and bent to 90 degrees followed by leg raises 15-20 times, 3 sets of this, then 30 straight legs sit ups to finish off. That worked for me until I noticed that my upper abs were mostly popping out. So I switched to good old straight legs sits ups to work the core more then upper abs, since upper abs is easier to get. Now I do, 50 straight leg sit ups for warm up, then following by 2 more sets of 50 reps with 10 pound plate on my chest, the next day my abs kill and only middle and lower, not upper, I suggest you guys give it a try.

Its not what you know, its what you can do that counts!

Age: 18
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 162 lb
Current Status: Strength Training (Max-OT)

I was ill for 2 weeks so I couldn't go to gym for a while. After one week of getting back into the routine I did 15 reps with straight legs sit ups, then 50 reps with a 10 pounder, then again 50 reps with 10 pounder + without rest 50 without weight. It seems to be getting easier and easier, my abs don't hurt as much and they adapt pretty fast. I need suggestions, should I increase weight and lower number reps, for example 25 pounds and 30 reps tops?

Its not what you know, its what you can do that counts!

Age: 18
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 162 lb
Current Status: Strength Training (Max-OT)

hi 8pack,
i have been really working out the last few weeks as i live in australia and it is winter over here now and i want to start losing the body fat for summer.
i do quite abit of cardio.
i do swimming wednesday morning and friday morning for 1 and a half hours. and then running maybe 2 or 3 times a weeks for about 10km. should the cardio be a hard effort (anaerobic) or easy (aerobic) to lose the most fat around my stomach. im seeing little change every few weeks. my diet is pretty good im slowly cutting down on calories as i dont want to rush into cutting it out fast. i also do declined sit-ups and crunches for my obliques 2-3 times a week. is there anything i can do to maximise my goal from what i am doin now.

age: 17
Weight: 156 or 70kilo.
height: 5ft 9" - 5ft 10"

goals i want a 6 pack and pretty much a all round toned body.

does anyone every post in here anymore i post above quite awhile ago and have not got any responses.

age: 17
Weight: 156 or 70kilo.
height: 5ft 9" - 5ft 10"

goals i want a 6 pack and pretty much a all round toned body.

ORIGINAL: chris_Ryan

Well i tell you what seems to be working for me.
I have been doing this every nite Mon-Fri along with my normal routine (Mon=chest, tue=shoulder, wed=legs, thur=arms, fri=back)

Crunches          3 - 10
Dual Crunches   3 - 10
Torso Twists     3 - 10
Low Leg raises  2 - 10
Jack-Kinives     2 - 10
Knee Ups         2 - 10
Extensions       2 - 10

What do ya's think?

I am thinking of upgrading though to a new more advanced routine a magazine i have.

 
 
Hey man Honestly thats too much your not allowing your body the rest it desperately needs.
 
If  your going to do something that extreme (yes its extreme to me because I only do one exercise for abs)
 
Then do it max 3 times a week and even once or twice would work well.
 
When you go balls to the wall with any body part you should allow at least 48 hrs to recover basically M - W - F split is best to allow you to recover and after 6 weeks drop it down to twice a week and see how that works for ya!
 
 
The exercise I do is Trunk Curls they hit all major muscles and work really well for me try them out!
 
 
Natural Muscle

"How I Gained 23
Pounds of Lean Muscle in 4 Short Weeks - Without UsingSteroids..."www.musclebuildingfast.com"Click here for your FREE report!"

HAY WHAT DO YALL THING ABOUT THE BOWFLEX
 
I HAVE ONE AND BEEN USEING IT FOR ABOUT 3 WEEKS AND WEN I STARED I WAS AT 155-157 AND NOW IAM AT 151-153
 
AND IAM STARING TO GET A LITLE OF  A 6 PAC 
 
DO YALL THINK IT WILL WORK
 

What kind of equipment from bowflex are you talking about exactly?

Its not what you know, its what you can do that counts!

Age: 18
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 162 lb
Current Status: Strength Training (Max-OT)

Weighted Decline Crunches
Cable Crunches




What are these?

I can do 400 Sit-ups in one sitting without resting or taking breaks. or doing sets.
just sit down and do 400 straight.
but i'm not ripped or anything.
My friends don't believe i can do 400 until they see it...
I work on my abs everyday. and i don't see results
I posted this on yahoo answers and they said it was a result of "overstraining" the muscles... is that true?

I have a bowflex ultimate....
it has tons of exercises but without proper form,
they don't work at all.
I train 3 days on and one day off.
Day one i emphasize Chest and Shoulders
Day two i emphasize Arms and Upper back
and Day three Legs and Lower back.
and then on my day off i like to focus on ab workouts.

j_shlong


I can do 400 Sit-ups in one sitting without resting or taking breaks. or doing sets.
just sit down and do 400 straight.
but i'm not ripped or anything.
My friends don't believe i can do 400 until they see it...
I work on my abs everyday. and i don't see results
I posted this on yahoo answers and they said it was a result of "overstraining" the muscles... is that true?

No, you have too much body fat. Your abs won't show until you are very lean.

Two things have developed my abs:

Squats
Pilates

One thing ifound tht really helps with the abs is doing them in between of sprints
Itd be something like sprint for a minute, then immediately on the ground and leg raises for as many as you can.  Once you cant do any more then go and do another sprint.  Do it about 8 times with switching ab excercises and your sure to have some soar abs the next day.

I agree. Low body fat is the key. If there is too much fat in your ab area, your muscles will not be given a chance to show. Thanks for giving some sculpting exercises for my abs

Get the Best Obliques