The Basics to Perfect Abs

The Basics to Perfect Abs
 
Low Body Fat is the first key step to Perfect Abs. After that, it’s all working out to achieve the Perfect Abs. What you gotta do is get yourself organized, watch what you eat. Start off by canceling out the Whopper Menus off of your daily meals. After the canceling, take everything out of your refrigerator, and throw them away. You are now fresh. Go to your food store and fill your refrigerator with healthy and useful food like vegetables, fish etc.
 
Other then eating healthy to lower your BF% is doing cardio, What I do for cardio is Shadow Boxing, Heavy Bag, and Jump Rope, I do this because I box, this seems to be enough for me but the most popular and best cardio is Running or Swimming.
 
Abs are just like any other muscle group in your body but most people do not treat them like one. You should train your abs 1-2 times a week. You need to try it out and see which one fits better for you. A basic routine would go like this:
 
Crunches for 2 sets 30 reps
Sit Ups for 2 sets 30 reps
 
But this is a limited routine, you can only get so far. If you want your abs to pop out, be ripped and hard, your abs need much more of an intense workout. What I recommend is to have this routine for 3 weeks in a row, once or twic every week of course, taking 1-2 min rest between sets :
 
Weighted Decline Crunches  8 reps for 3 sets
Cable Crunches 8 reps for 3 sets
Weighted Leg Lifts- 8 reps for 3 sets
 
Then after having done this for 3 weeks, do this endurance routine for 1 week:
 
Light Weighted Sit Ups- 25 reps for 2 sets
Leg Lifts- 25 reps for 3 sets (or however many reps you can do)
 
After that, repeat the 4 week routine.
 
Or another way of training. Supersets (little more advanced stuff):
 
Weighted Decline Crunches - 16 reps
20 sec rest
Weighted Leg Lifts - 16 reps
 
45 sec rest
 
Weighted Decline Crunches - 14 reps
20 sec rest
Weighted Leg Lifts - 14 reps

45 sec rest
 
Weighted Decline Crunches - 12 reps
20 sec rest
Weighted Leg Lifts - 12 reps
 
45 sec rest
 
Weighted Decline Crunches - 10 reps
20 sec rest
Weighted Leg Lifts - 10 reps
 
45 sec rest
 
Weighted Decline Crunches - 8 reps
20 sec rest
Weighted Leg Lifts - 8 reps
 
If you want results with this routine, you need to keep with the timing, you cannot do this routine without a stop watch.
 
Some Things to Keep in Mind

-Try doing your cardio on different days then your training days.
-Train with a Partner.
-Don't eat protein bars before workout.
-Focus mentally to your workout.

my cable machine only goes up to 150 lbs and cable crunches with such a low weight are a joke, should i use the lat pull down machine instead?

You can change it how ever much you like man, as long as you feel the intense workout.

so i should try to find a weight i can only do 8 with?

you should work your abs 2x a week since the abs fibers recover fast. Also stick in the 8-12 reps area since they are the key hypertrophy are for muscle growth. I would do 7 sets each ab workout to equal 14 sets total a week. the best mass building exercise for abs would be wieght crunches. to perform these lay on you bench press with your head hanging off. then take a dumbell will say 10 pound dumbell and hold it behind your head. Then do a normal crunch like you would on the ground. when you do these breath out as you crunch as much as you can. Because your abs cannot contract fully with air in you. do 3 sets of 8-12 reps if you can do all 12 on last rep increase the wieght next ab workout. Only take 30 sec break in between sets max. because your abs recover faster then other muscles. Keep a chart as you should be doing to see progress and keep track. My ab workout looks like this....
 
Tuesday/friday-wieghted crunches 3 sets,  wieghted twist crunches 2 sets,  hanging leg raises or decline crunches 2 sets

We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon. - Jimmy Carter

OK, i'm not a teenager (that was like 100 years ago) ,, but i still want good abs, i have been doing 100 crunchs (4 sets of 25) and 100 leg raises (4 sets of 25) 50 twist crunchs(2 sets of 25) per day 5 days a week for that last two months .Because of the abs being able to recover fast, is what i'm doing over working the abs ?

I refuse to fail !!

Well, I've been doing 2 of the 3 lol.  I just gotta eat better

Age: 16
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 165

Bench: 205
Squat: 365
Deadlift: 385
Total: 955

Goal: 1000 by January of 2006

Trick, try out an intense workout and see how long it takes your abs to recover

I will start this Monday on a more intense ab workout along with my regular cardio,10 miles on a bike,40 mins of cardio and 10 mins of rope.So, i'll add the routine you posted above.I am cutting right now, so i know this will help.
                                 Thanks ~ Trick

I refuse to fail !!

hey 8pack,  can i build up the ab muscles on a cut? are they different then other muscles where they can grow without an excess amount of cals?

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.

lol chris ryan, now i know your not doing that for your abs. 17 sets???

hey yo i live in miami, FL WhAt DeY DO!!!! ha ha anyways thanx for the abs tips man your routine sounds badass and ima try it out ima let you kno bout the results ina a month or so... reply this msg..

yo 8pack, ima try put ur routine for a mopnth or two and ima let you kno of the results yo 4get that skinny kid andy he doesnt have a clue.. ur routine sounds badass and ima try it out reply to this msg man cuz i say abs like urs is good enuf to pull the hoes... i live in miami, fl by the way just so u kno that im kinds close...

OK 8pack how is this routine? I run 2 miles per day take only weds off and sometimes sunday. I do 60 crunches per day. After I work out I swim for about half an hour. Will this help? My belly is losin fat I can tell but I want the abs.