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shopping for a plan for the abs, just wondering what's a good tried and tested plan from you folks

i honestly believe that getting abs is like 70% food watching...

ie really watching what you eat.. im no expert but that is my opinion. the rest is cardio and abs workout ie situps, core work, etc..


one thing that helped me get abs was doing isometric contractions on my stomach all day long.. what i did was put a piece of sticky tape on my stomach under my shirt at work.. This would be a constant reminder to suck in my stomach all day long as much as i could..

Surfsun is 100% correct. I am a huge workout guy but his advice is right on. GREAT advise and I do not say that often.

An exercise that I do for my whole core uses a stability ball.

I put my shins up on the ball and my hands down on the floor. Then I "jackknife" my body by raising my butt up in the air. I keep my legs and torso stiff and just bend at the hips. My legs roll up the ball as I execute the exercise.

I found this exercise really worked my whole core: abs, sides, and back.

I had to experiment a bit to determine how close to the ball to place my hands and where on my legs the ball should start, so that I could get a good high flex.

I also use the ab straps and do hanging ab curls and use an ab machine.

You may laugh, but 8 Minute Abs totally whipped mine into shape a couple years ago. I gradually added some more into the routing that took it past 8 minutes, but it still stayed pretty short.

Now, at the gym, all I do is the captain's chair after my cardio. Seems to be enough.

Here's something interesting. http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm

Well, if my trophies serve as any testimonial, I'd say time (18 weeks), diet (calories, up to 5000), and HIIT (high intensity interval training).

Abs are a function of how low your body fat is. Starving folks can have "abs." Body fat levels are a function of consistent smart training. I've never had anyone I couldn't get lean, nor anyone I couldn't get to gain, provided they did what I told them.

I usually give myself 18 to 24 weeks to go from about 12% body fat down to about 4. I bring my calories UP, along with bringing my HIIT UP. The combination prevents metabolic lag / famine response, and the extra calories allow me to train at a higher level. Even at the high calorie levels I'll still burn more calories than I consume and I'll get very lean.

Be sure NOT to starve. That'll invoke the famine response and you'll do everything but burn the fat.

chuckystud saidWell, if my trophies serve as any testimonial, I'd say time (18 weeks), diet (calories, up to 5000), and HIIT (high intensity interval training).

Abs are a function of how low your body fat is. Starving folks can have "abs." Body fat levels are a function of consistent smart training. I've never had anyone I couldn't get lean, nor anyone I couldn't get to gain, provided they did what I told them.

I usually give myself 18 to 24 weeks to go from about 12% body fat down to about 4. I bring my calories UP, along with bringing my HIIT UP. The combination prevents metabolic lag / famine response, and the extra calories allow me to train at a higher level. Even at the high calorie levels I'll still burn more calories than I consume and I'll get very lean.

Be sure NOT to starve. That'll invoke the famine response and you'll do everything but burn the fat.

when you say high intense training, what sort of exercises do you recommend.

chuckystud saidWell, if my trophies serve as any testimonial, I'd say time (18 weeks), diet (calories, up to 5000), and HIIT (high intensity interval training).

Abs are a function of how low your body fat is. Starving folks can have "abs." Body fat levels are a function of consistent smart training. I've never had anyone I couldn't get lean, nor anyone I couldn't get to gain, provided they did what I told them.

I usually give myself 18 to 24 weeks to go from about 12% body fat down to about 4. I bring my calories UP, along with bringing my HIIT UP. The combination prevents metabolic lag / famine response, and the extra calories allow me to train at a higher level. Even at the high calorie levels I'll still burn more calories than I consume and I'll get very lean.

Be sure NOT to starve. That'll invoke the famine response and you'll do everything but burn the fat.

really? how often should one do HIIT and how long? 5000 per day is a lot of calories and a lot of food.

The Crystal Lite Diet.

also known as the Jenny Crank system.

HIIT twice a day. 12 to 20 minutes. Stairs or bleacher sprints are my first choice. You can research HIIT for further information.

When you're active you BURN a lot of calories. HIIT can burn as much as 1400 calories per hour.

Considering base metabolism, and as an example, with 190 pounds of muscle that I carry (some folks say to use 20 instead of 15 here, but, I'm older):

15 * 190 = 2850 for sedentary mass retention (static)
600 for lifting
600 for cardio (I end up short because I do HIIT twice a day)
Total: 4050.

I'm at 4050, so at anything less than 4000 I'd be losing fat / mass. If I was a younger man, I'd change the 15 to a 20 above. If I was younger, the requirement would be 5000.

You can research base caloric requirements for an athlete on your own.

I learned early in life (I was 175% at 12% fat at 5'5" in high school) that it's in the calories when it comes to performance.

Lean muscle mass is the only way that your can increase your base metabolism as you grow older. To few calories, and you can't increase that mass. If you consistently get to few calories, over a period of time, your body becomes a fat-storing machine. Never forget: calories are your friends.

chuckystud saidHIIT twice a day. 12 to 20 minutes. Stairs or bleacher sprints are my first choice. You can research HIIT for further information.

When you're active you BURN a lot of calories. HIIT can burn as much as 1400 calories per hour.

Considering base metabolism, and as an example, with 190 pounds of muscle that I carry (some folks say to use 20 instead of 15 here, but, I'm older):

15 * 190 = 2850 for sedentary mass retention (static)
600 for lifting
600 for cardio (I end up short because I do HIIT twice a day)
Total: 4050.

I'm at 4050, so at anything less than 4000 I'd be losing fat / mass. If I was a younger man, I'd change the 15 to a 20 above. If I was younger, the requirement would be 5000.

You can research base caloric requirements for an athlete on your own.

I learned early in life (I was 175% at 12% fat at 5'5" in high school) that it's in the calories when it comes to performance.

Lean muscle mass is the only way that your can increase your base metabolism as you grow older. To few calories, and you can't increase that mass. If you consistently get to few calories, over a period of time, your body becomes a fat-storing machine. Never forget: calories are your friends.

I've no idea what stair /bleach sprints are...
Why don't you do running sprints?

running up and down stairs.

I usually use a stability ball for part of mine. Also push-ups.

Recent studies show that crunches are really no better for the body than sit-ups. They're finding that both really do a number on your lower spine over time, causing problems later on.

A stability ball probably reduces the inflection problems, but does not remove them totally from the equation. I've heard plank exercises are a good way to go. I know there are a couple listed in the Real Jock workout plans.

13+ years of yoga

EricLA saidI usually use a stability ball for part of mine. Also push-ups.

Recent studies show that crunches are really no better for the body than sit-ups. They're finding that both really do a number on your lower spine over time, causing problems later on.

A stability ball probably reduces the inflection problems, but does not remove them totally from the equation. I've heard plank exercises are a good way to go. I know there are a couple listed in the Real Jock workout plans.

I'm gonna post this link again:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/core-myths/?ref=magazine

I completely changed my ab routine after reading this article. The changes do seem to be helping my back problems (though not eliminating them), and the results in terms of effectiveness seem to be surprisingly good (given how much easier this workout is to do compared with what I used to do).

RunintheCity said13+ years of yoga

wow thats massive. i have just started doing yoga. trying to enjoy bikram but its tough. the heat is killing me

6 pack of beer

the best plan is to kill them everyday, forever

Oh I know the perfect machine for abs.

Believe it or not, the ab coaster really works. My gym just got the ab coaster and i love it. it makes your abs sooo sore after you use it which means that it works. This machine is much betr than those painful ab crunches or leg raises

I hear the Hollywood Diet is the best:



+



+



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=

Cave man diet and good form crunches before bed. Vary your crunches...the ones shown on this site do the trick. Oldschool sit ups aren't as effecive.

Bill Phillips has a great diet and ab program. Also I have a buddy doing P90X and his abs look great now. He followed it to a T.

surfsunbeach said

RunintheCity said13+ years of yoga

wow thats massive. i have just started doing yoga. trying to enjoy bikram but its tough. the heat is killing me

I've done other stuff over the years exercise-wise, but didn't really flatten my tummy until I started into yoga big time. Sun salutes especially seem to work the plexus. I'm sure the many miles I run help as well.

But I love yoga. It changed my life.

balanced diet, good mix of cardio and weights, and the most recent addition is P90x's Ab ripper X. Im sure you can find a bootleg copy some where. It has realllly helped me out.

Best program. Lay off crappy food. Abs are born in the kitchen, period. At least for me...

I agree. It really doesn't matter how developed your abs are if they are under a layer of fat. Focus on eating to become lean and avoid alcohol during that period. Basically, do everything you can to burn fat as much as possible, while keeping your muscle mass up. I normally do 2-3 short sessions of abs a week.

Good luck!

My opinion is that an ab plan or any other exercise plan will get you only so far. Then your body's going to adapt to it. I'd say take elements from different plans, and switch it up fairly regularly. I'm someone who gets bored in the gym so I personally love getting adventurous within reason and I have seen good gains in strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, etc.

Last week I took a yoga class and toward the end of the session the instructor had us hit our abs hard. Bicycle kicks at varying speeds, and then he had us do a ladder where we started out with our legs straight up, lowered them in stages, and then walked them back up like we were climbing a ladder. It was brutal.

chuckystud saidHIIT twice a day. 12 to 20 minutes. Stairs or bleacher sprints are my first choice. You can research HIIT for further information.

When you're active you BURN a lot of calories. HIIT can burn as much as 1400 calories per hour.

Considering base metabolism, and as an example, with 190 pounds of muscle that I carry (some folks say to use 20 instead of 15 here, but, I'm older):

15 * 190 = 2850 for sedentary mass retention (static)
600 for lifting
600 for cardio (I end up short because I do HIIT twice a day)
Total: 4050.

I'm at 4050, so at anything less than 4000 I'd be losing fat / mass. If I was a younger man, I'd change the 15 to a 20 above. If I was younger, the requirement would be 5000.

You can research base caloric requirements for an athlete on your own.

I learned early in life (I was 175% at 12% fat at 5'5" in high school) that it's in the calories when it comes to performance.

Lean muscle mass is the only way that your can increase your base metabolism as you grow older. To few calories, and you can't increase that mass. If you consistently get to few calories, over a period of time, your body becomes a fat-storing machine. Never forget: calories are your friends.

Hey I'm new here, but this was one of the best/most accurate posts I've read anywhere on the Interwebs. Thanks.