abs??

tb1936 · March 10th, 2007, 02:55 PM

hey

I am 5'9" 175 and pounds. I am heavy but not fat most of it is muscle. I rep 295lbs on squats and 185 on bench. My maxes for bench are in the 200s and squats is in the high 300s to low 400s. My problem is no matter how hard i try i cant get my abs to show. I have hardly and fat on my body except for some over my abs. I ran track and i play sports and i cant lose that little layer that keeps the from showing. What do i need to get rid of this problem. The muscles are there they just aren't showing.
thanks

**championofnight** · March 10th, 2007, 03:14 PM

hey this is my first post in 4 months. I am back from the dead. miss me guys?
i promise to be a good boy now that i am back.
But anyway, the ab thing. I know what you mean. All people have abs, its just whether ther person has a low-enough bf% to let them show. If you are big and buff and cut every place else but the abs, then try some ab-work?
Aha! I got it. Just start cutting. Cutting takes time, but dude its so worth it. I have been cutting consistently for three weeks, and in this short amount of time i have developed a four-pack, where as before i had a no-pack. Another three weeks of the stuff im putting myself through, and i should be so damn sexy that no chick can resist... They actually have a hard time resisting already, but thats a diff. topic.lol
Dude.. no worries. What i have been doing right now is eating 2500 cals a day, and with moderate activity i need 3600 cals. Sedentary, i need 3000. So even if i dont feel like doing cardio, i still have a deficit. But anyway... its kinda funny actually, but me and a friend went out for a 6 mile jog last night at like 1:50AM after seeing the new 300 movie. It got us so reved up. I came home around like 3:00Am lols.
Just consistently eat less, and do lots of cardio, if you are only eating 2500 cals a day, then do not do three sets of each exercise at the gym. Only do one or two at the maximum.This way you can prevent lbm loss.
Best of luck!
-Champion

tb1936 · March 10th, 2007, 03:29 PM

alright thanks man and its funny u mention 300 thats what got me revved up about the ab thing again lol. so i just need to pick up the cardio and start so sets of abs when i go to the weight room. alright thanks man. if anyone has more solutions post them.

**Insex** · March 10th, 2007, 03:32 PM

Welcome to EF, tb1936. Enjoy your stay and all of our resources we have to offer here.

Post us a list of what you eat on a typical day. In addition to that, post us a couple lists of your workouts. Do you do a lot of cardio, or just mainly weightlifting? Also, what's your age/gender?

tb1936 · March 10th, 2007, 03:56 PM

male 16 years old

i eat
Breakfast - cereal or poptarts
lunch - turkey and cheese sandwich with some kind of granola bar and maybe some chips and then i go out sometimes and thats usually bad
Dinner - something like pasta or pork chops maybe like a roast or somthin.
i know its not the best diet but i dont know where to improve it or if i need more calories or what.

on lifting day i take creatine before i lift and 44 grams of protein afterwards.

My workout
monday- high intensity low rep
Bench- 1x10 at 140lbs for the first set then 3x4 at 185, then 1x10 at 135lbs. the first and last are warm up and cool down.
squats- 2x6 at 205 lbs fro warm up, then 3x4 at 295
power cleans- 3x4 at 155lbs
power press- 3x4 at 115
upright rows- 3x10
lat pull downs- 3x10 at 110 pounds
triceps- 3x10
abs- 3x10 with 25 pound plate on chest(only added to workout last week)
incline bench 3x10 at 105

Wednesday- Low intensity high rep
Bench 4x10 at 140 lbs
squat 2x10 at 185 and 2x10 at 205
hang clean 3x10 at 120
power press 3x10 at 105
upright rows- 3x10
lat pull downs- 3x10 at 110 pounds
triceps- 3x10
abs- 3x10 with 25 pound plate on chest(only added to workout last week)
incline bench 3x10 at 105

friday- high intensity low rep
Bench- 1x10 at 140lbs for the first set then 3x4 at 185, then 1x10 at 135lbs. the first and last are warm up and cool down.
squats- 2x6 at 205 lbs fro warm up, then 3x4 at 295
power cleans- 3x4 at 155lbs
power press- 3x4 at 115
upright rows- 3x10
lat pull downs- 3x10 at 110 pounds
triceps- 3x10
abs- 3x10 with 25 pound plate on chest(only added to workout last week)
incline bench 3x10 at 105

I do some cardio but not as much as i used to but i lift regularly a rarely miss

LittleBigs · March 10th, 2007, 04:18 PM

The workout looks good, lots of compound lifts that promote muscle growth and mass. But, your diet will not get you your desired results. Poptarts are awful from my experience, instead eat some oatmeal, egg whites, maybe two pieces of whole grain toast, and fruit. Lunch seems ok beside chips, possibly replace with a fruit or yogurt. Watch out for proportion sizes on the meat and cheese as well as the sodium count in many deli packed meats. Dinner, is alright but i would go with chicken, fish, or a lean steak at a proportion of 4 to 6 ounces. Also, you need tons more vegetables and fruit in your diet. Also, i would suggest eating 6 small meals every 2 to 3 hours.

I hope this helps and sorry if it is straighforward and or clear.

Good luck and welcome to EF.

tb1936 · March 10th, 2007, 04:29 PM

alright thanks ya i figured the pop tarts were bad and i will work on the fruits and vegetables thanks for the help

LittleBigs · March 10th, 2007, 05:41 PM

no problem, here at EF it is our pleasure to advise you in any of your goals and questions.

rindindindindindindin · March 10th, 2007, 05:46 PM

ha, sweet, i have the same problem! well, im off to the gym but i will start eating smarter again!

**tooncesthecat** · July 20th, 2007, 09:51 PM

Up the cardio, dude

athlete_musician · September 3rd, 2007, 06:58 PM

i agree with LittleBigs. but i don't want to quote everything he said. lol. but yeah, abs are about having a good diet and cardio more than doing a bunch of different crunches i think. well, they come in later on.

teenbodybuilding.com/ryanswan3.htm

try his ab routine on that page after you're sure that you've gotten the cardio and diet down. even just for a start if you want, and modify it to your liking.
and by the way.. to me that picture motivates me when i feel like quitting.

**number1point** · September 14th, 2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by athlete_musician

i agree with LittleBigs. but i don't want to quote everything he said. lol. but yeah, abs are about having a good diet and cardio more than doing a bunch of different crunches i think. well, they come in later on.

teenbodybuilding.com/ryanswan3.htm

try his ab routine on that page after you're sure that you've gotten the cardio and diet down. even just for a start if you want, and modify it to your liking.
and by the way.. to me that picture motivates me when i feel like quitting.

haha i saw that...and that work out is legit...

alright man ...im just out of highschool so iknow what your goin thru...my suggestion is this...
(given this will prove to yourself how dedicated you are and will also teach you obedience and discipline)...

i dont know what time you usually get up...but my school day started at 730... so i will use that time for an example..

wake up at 6 to give plenty of time for all this stuff and to clean up...girls love six packs but if you smell like shit then you wont get anything ...anyways..

get up at 6...stretch etc etc..dont eat but put some sweats on or shorts on and hit the pavement...it dont have to be a marathon...but run for about 20 minutes or longer if you wish...
come back and eat...myself i use to have around 4 egg whites with a whole egg...2 toast light on butter and some strawberries to get my started...then shower and head to school...

i bought me 2 of the 'shakers' from gnc...and put me 2 scoops of formula in there dry...(no liquid added)...kept that in my locker...around 1020 when my class let out to switch classes id hurry to my locker...hit the water fountian with one of my shakers....slam it and then throw it in my book bag and hit class again...

lunch came...id pack a chicken breast or a flank steak or somethin like that approx 6 oz or so...piled on some green beans (lower in cals then other veggies) and had some yogurt or something like that with some school skim milk...

CLASS TIME!!

then my second to last class id run to my locker again...with the second shaker i had formula in...filled it with water and pounded the shit out of it..and went to class again...

right after school is when i would work out unless i took the weight trainin class...
so before the workout...45 minutes before or so...id get about 1/4-1/2 cup of cottage chees with some fruit...and take my gram of creatine...lift....

pound a shake when i got home with some simple carbs...rice etc...with my gram of creatine...

and then for super i kept it MAAADDD LEAN....my dad would have porkchops...id have a salad that i broke some baked chicken up in along with some carrots and other veggies...i eat salad dry...but if you want to wet it a lil bet...use a splash of oil and viniger...scarf it down ...

thats how i got my meals in thru school...

i weighed around 195 with abs and obliques...twas great...

moral of the story...do a lil cardio in the am before you eat to burn the fat from the fasting...jog at a pace that you break a light sweat but you could still carry a convo with someone and not lose your breath...thats when fat burning is the most efficient...the second moral is to eat clean...the diet i used helped me loads...third moral of the story..is damn im long winded lol...

hope this helps man and best of luck to you...

OBE · September 16th, 2007, 04:16 AM

Run in your fat burning zone (120-140 heart beats per minute normaly 30-40 minutes everyday!)
But let me say POPTARTS? Don't eat starches at night, work the abs multi ways.
I'm a big believer in inversion training (hanging up-side down) and if you need more of a challenge get a weighted vest or back pack and put a weight plate inside.
And remember everyone is different, so differnet things work for different people.
Find what works for you, and keep it fun and challenging.

**number1point** · September 16th, 2007, 11:52 PM

good point bro...

and good point on the 30-45 minutes a day...

read my article i posted in the cardio section i believe....break that 45 minutes up....do 20 minutes...then rest and do abs for 15 minutes...then go back and do 20 minutes of cardio...says you burn more fat and you can get that layer off...

Jesus_Rules · October 1st, 2007, 05:08 PM

I am 5'5, and I was 200 pounds back in Feburary 06 (

), but I had enough of being fat, so I went walking and drank alot of water, and now I am about 139!

My problem is, I still have some body fat, and I can't seem to build up any abs at all! Anybody know what I can do to remedy that?

**tidalwave** · October 1st, 2007, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesus_Rules

I am 5'5, and I was 200 pounds back in Feburary 06 (

), but I had enough of being fat, so I went walking and drank alot of water, and now I am about 139!

My problem is, I still have some body fat, and I can't seem to build up any abs at all! Anybody know what I can do to remedy that?

Weighted exercises like hanging leg raises (holding a weight with your feet) and slow/controlled sicillian crunches are helpful in building abs. A $10 ab wheel is also a good investment.

Check out the Best Of forum section. There's plenty of info on getting defined abs in there. Here's one of the many threads: Getting Ripped Abs and other answers

Jesus_Rules · October 1st, 2007, 05:25 PM

Thanks for the info, Tidalwave! The problem is, I...uh...don't have the money for weights and fancy stuff. So....anything else I can do? Hows about crunches? Will they work?

**mooshue** · October 1st, 2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesus_Rules

Thanks for the info, Tidalwave! The problem is, I...uh...don't have the money for weights and fancy stuff. So....anything else I can do? Hows about crunches? Will they work?

Good old fashioned crunches, side bends, oblique twists, etc.. will work the area just fine. Problem is you still wont see the muscles until you loose the layer of fat in front of it. Same holds true with every area of the body. Dont get discouraged though, youve dropped a ton in a relatively short period. I too dumped from 265lbs to 195lbs obsessed with making that gut go away to the point where i lost most of my muscle and neglected the rest of my body. Keep working it and keep eating proper nutrition and it will come.
Im slowly taking off what took me the better part of 15 years to put on and happy with it now that i see what is really in the mirror.

Jesus_Rules · October 1st, 2007, 05:56 PM

Hey, Mooshue. I know how you feel! You are voicing my feelings perfectly. I too am kind of focused on loosing the belly fat, and up to this point I have neglected muscle building. Now, though, since Im in the Marine Corp DEP, I have to focus on those muscles.

But what's your story? How long did it take you to loose the weight you lost?
Also, could you explain the other excercises you listed in a bit more detail...like how to do them.

**mooshue** · October 1st, 2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesus_Rules

Hey, Mooshue. I know how you feel! You are voicing my feelings perfectly. I too am kind of focused on loosing the belly fat, and up to this point I have neglected muscle building. Now, though, since Im in the Marine Corp DEP, I have to focus on those muscles.

But what's your story? How long did it take you to loose the weight you lost?
Also, could you explain the other excercises you listed in a bit more detail...like how to do them.

I got divorced, visited home for my dads wedding and saw what i actually looked like. So rather than sitting on my ass and wasteing away i stopped eating out, stopped drinking fluids other than water, stopped smoking. Just eating right and doing the light cardio dumped nearly 25 lbs in the first month alone. I bought a bunch of freeweights at walmart, found a tae bo vid on the net and started doing that. Then i moved and my complex had a gym. I met my girlfriend a few months after that i was down to 205lbs or so. She had me start going to the gym with her. Ever since that day, i have been a daily member of golds gym. You can do so much more when you have that abundance of equipment and free weights. I got with a trainer for a few months to get me on a program and have just researched nutrition, workouts, anatomy, steriods, supplemtns, etc.. since then. That along with my plumit to 195lbs is my basic story.