The six pack...
Discussion
HBFS said:
I'm guessing you have one then?!
Sounds too much like hard work!
Once you have it you just maintain it, I run ultra marathons so my bf is low. I weigh between 80-85 kg most days depending on diet, training and how many events I'm in. I'm quite happy with it, seeing as I'm 41 Sounds too much like hard work!
I've had good-ish abs for 15 years. I suppose you could say a sixpack. I lead an active lifestyle, good diet etc, run and lift weights. I target abs for 30 mins once a week.
A lot of lifters will train a muscle group once a week. Why should abs be any different? I'm afraid endless crunches, situps etc will only get you good at doing endless crunches and situps. Always makes me smile.. 'I get out of bed and do 100 situps every morning'...WHY FFS?
A lot of lifters will train a muscle group once a week. Why should abs be any different? I'm afraid endless crunches, situps etc will only get you good at doing endless crunches and situps. Always makes me smile.. 'I get out of bed and do 100 situps every morning'...WHY FFS?
goldblum said:
I've had good-ish abs for 15 years. I suppose you could say a sixpack. I lead an active lifestyle, good diet etc, run and lift weights. I target abs for 30 mins once a week.
A lot of lifters will train a muscle group once a week. Why should abs be any different? I'm afraid endless crunches, situps etc will only get you good at doing endless crunches and situps. Always makes me smile.. 'I get out of bed and do 100 situps every morning'...WHY FFS?
It's an interesting topic. A lot of lifters will train a muscle group once a week. Why should abs be any different? I'm afraid endless crunches, situps etc will only get you good at doing endless crunches and situps. Always makes me smile.. 'I get out of bed and do 100 situps every morning'...WHY FFS?
Some people do swear by this or that daily exercise and say they can feel it and their core is strong. The first piece of information just tells me that they walk around with a pain in their guts all week (which could be sitting under 20lbs of fat). The second piece of information just tells me they can do crunches all day which is great if you've lost your arms and legs and want to compete in Paralympic swimming events. What neither pieces of information tell me is whether their abs are chiseled and bold like a Spartan warrior.
I tried in vain to find out on MFP whether anyone who does planks as their sole core exercise actually has a six pack. Once more, I found out that their guts hurt and they had (in their opinion) a strong core. Neither of which I give a s
t about. Let's be frank about this. Personally, I'm only interested in this for vanity purposes. Who actually wants a six pack from a functional viewpoint because it's any better than someone who has 20% bodyfat and can perform the same athletic functions someone with 8% bodyfat has (except they're probably colder in winter)? My core has been suitably strong for climbing purposes for years (when else do you really need a bastid strong core unless you're dangling from your hands and the only way to progress is to lift your feet back up to the wall?) yet I've never had a properly chiseled six pack (in fact, I know someone with an impressive six pack who cannot do a single toe-to-bar leg raise so having a strong core is irrelevant).
Anyway, just for experimental purposes, I've ditched all core work (bar using the core for compound exercises) apart from renegade rows (a bit like planks but tougher due to the added weight), so we'll see just how good (weighted) planks really are.</hoofy rambling>
Plank schmank. 
I don't do any specific core exercises, I do abs. My front is worked by weighted situps/leg raises, sides by weighted oblique exercises and stuff like windscreen wipers - I'm sure we've talked about those before, haven't we Hoofy? - Intercostals by weighted cable/seated crunches.Lower back is worked by squats. So I do no specific core exercise but with a full ab routine manage to train both rectus and transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and erector spinae muscles - what's known as the core.
I don't do any specific core exercises, I do abs. My front is worked by weighted situps/leg raises, sides by weighted oblique exercises and stuff like windscreen wipers - I'm sure we've talked about those before, haven't we Hoofy? - Intercostals by weighted cable/seated crunches.Lower back is worked by squats. So I do no specific core exercise but with a full ab routine manage to train both rectus and transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and erector spinae muscles - what's known as the core. goldblum said:
Plank schmank. I don't do any specific core exercises, I do abs. My front is worked by weighted situps/leg raises, sides by weighted oblique exercises and stuff like windscreen wipers - I'm sure we've talked about those before, haven't we Hoofy? - Intercostals by weighted cable/seated crunches.Lower back is worked by squats. So I do no specific core exercise but with a full ab routine manage to train both rectus and transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and erector spinae muscles - what's known as the core.
That's my thinking! I don't do any specific core exercises, I do abs. My front is worked by weighted situps/leg raises, sides by weighted oblique exercises and stuff like windscreen wipers - I'm sure we've talked about those before, haven't we Hoofy? - Intercostals by weighted cable/seated crunches.Lower back is worked by squats. So I do no specific core exercise but with a full ab routine manage to train both rectus and transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and erector spinae muscles - what's known as the core. In any case, my time spent doing renegades isn't so bad - when I am in plank position, I pick up a weight with a straight arm and "pivot" the weight towards my hips, so I'm training my body for front levers even if planks do f
k all.
Fozziebear said:
I do about 200 core exrercises in the morning after my morning run, then I repeat the same in the evening. I do crunches, leg raises, flutter kicks, knees to chest whilst hanging from a bar. Then it's all diet. I do a lot of core to give me strength for my running, it helps.
I don't understand this.... the Abs are mainly fast twitch so benefit from weighted exercise 6-8 rep range.All ways see overweight people on the ab crunch doing countless reps, they should be trained like any other muscle group.
IMHO
P.S
Have a 6 pack, rarely train core specifically
I think it's a case of what exercise works for your body. With me I blast my abs hard, if I used weights for resistance I would do a crunch with a kettle bell extended above my head. It's always worked for me, but may not for others. I know when I boxed we did sit ups and crunches till we puked, never really hurt when I got punched in the belly. The chubbers on the ab cradle etc are just following a routine that a trainer has given them, and ignoring the important diet side, it's a vicious circle for them.
Opara said:
It seems abs are more trouble then they're worth, from what i've heard the majority of women are turned off by them.I'm still going to work on mine however as a point of personal pride.
Most women can't make their minds up what they want from a man, unless OK tells them I keep myself in shape for personal pride and knowing that when the zombies come I can move faster than the chubbers! 
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