Hey- here's a stat for you. Less than 1% of men have visible abdominal muscles or a "six-pack". Interestingly enough, this is the physical feature that women found most lacking in men. Good that the two corrolate. Now, who on this board works out regularly, and do we have any 1%ers with six-packs? If so, how do you maintain it? Man- my downfall is inconsistancy, I'll be really super awesome with eating clean one day while running 5 miles and the next day it's Whataburger and typing at the computer all day like a fat little pigeon. Also- any suppliment use? Thanks, Nick
I really should but a personal trainer told me that i should do around 300 abs per day if i wanted to see the beginning of the start of a 6 pack.. Hell !
According to a recent poll, women are more interested in your being able to use a washboard than looking like one. LOL
well, i never was able to attain the 6 or 8 pack situation... until i did ATKINS... I kid you not... i'm 27 and 5'10", was 192 lbs, started a strict atkins to get to a target weight of 172... and got to 167 lbs a day short of 4 weeks. Ok ok ok ... I know that ATKINS has had a bad wrap and it's relatively unhealthy to do it without being monitored by your doctor, but i can see my abs and i didnt do a single sit up. My HDL higher than pre-atkins and my ldl is lower (good cholesterol is up).. buti'm also lucky to have relativley low cholesterol to begin with. Take it for what it's worth... oh, and i'm now doing the healthier South Beach so i can maintain my weight loss. Atkins died obese.
i work out for an hour everyday, and do 200+ situps. i have been in decent shape all my life (obviously better in college than now), but i have never had a sixpack....probably due to my consumption of said beverage and liking food too much....but i guess there is more to life than looking like a gq model
LMAO...! When i was younger (and over a hundred pounds lighter) i have the beginnings of a very slight, thin six pack... It almost looked unhealthy; of course, i was unhealthily thin back then... No more six pack for me; now i buy 12 packs of Cherry Coke...
I guess im in that 1%. I would say that 25% of the ppl i know have a six pack, most of which are athletes. The fact that im pretty slender, at 180lbs and <9% body fat probably helps. I dont excersize and strenghten my abs just to have a six pack, i strengthen them because i strive to excel in the sport of rowing, and abs are essential to supporting your back and swinging your torso, especially when the rates get up to 40 strokes per minute. I dont wat fried foods, i used to not drink soda (for the past 3 weeks i have been pretty bad at avoiding soda) and i do intense cardio workouts for uo to 2 hours 3 times a week over the winter and 5-6 times a week in the spring/summer/fall and i lift alot too. we;'re supposed to do a 25 minute ab workout on our own but i have trouble finding the time to fit this into my day. I dont know what will happen when i get older and my metabolism slows down and i graduate and dont row anymore. Theres no way i will be able to push myself to such pain levels and exhaustion during cardio workouts on an erg (rowing machine) when im not a college athlete.
oh and btw, there are tons of other things to do that are more effective than sit ups or crunches. The ab workout i do when i have time works everything from the sides to the sternum. The first time i did it (read: required to do it) it was so sore that i to roll out of bed the next day because i couldnt sit up. i was feeling sore muscles that i didnt even know i had.
I have a 6 pack under there somewhere.... I used to run cros country and play sports at college, after college i worked at merrill lynch, worked out everyday. once summer came around though i stopped working out and started having more fun, its been downhill since there. would call my self fat though
Everything in balance. If you eat right for the most part and exercise, then just be happy with the way you look, six-pack or not. I'm not in the 1% but would fall within <10% so that's OK by me.
It doesn't matter how situps u do.... if you got tons of lard hanging out of your tummy, if u do 100000 situps a day....it wont show!! get rid of the lard first.....then the abs will show.
I agree. When you do sit ups, just focus on strengthening your abs, which in turn will prevent lower back injuries. If you want to actually see the abs (as opposed to just having strong ones) you need to focus on putting down that beer and avoid hitting the Taco Bell drive-through at 2:30 AM mmmm Gorditas....
Amen. I'm blessed with one of those metabolisms that laughs in the face of prime rib and oreos. I have a six pack in most lighting. And I don't work out. I may start soon, and then I'd gain well defined abdominal muscles quite quickly.
I doubt several hundred situps everyday will be anything but harmful to your abs... Once a week (per bodypart) workouts that are short but highly intense are the way to go. How would your abs ever have enough time to safely recover if you do several hundred situps a night?
actually, abs are one part of your body you can workout on an almost daily basis, although it obviously depends on what type of ab workouts you're doing. you typically don't have a full range of motion doing abs like you do say doing incline dumbell presses for your chest. (i do agree though, that several 100, if being done properly, is a bit overkill) i work out daily, kinda watch what i eat and i've always had an 8pack. it's all about consistency and body fat %!!! although the 6 vs. 8 pack, i believe, is genetic. someone said it, doesn't matter how great your abs are if you got 5 inches of fat covering them!!! and building the ab muscles will make your stomach look bigger since it's pushing the fat out more. one reason why people who are trying to "spot reduce" their love handles by doing those ridiculous side bends are unsuccessful.
I am a workout person. My workouts consist of a 6-day routine done with weights in the morning. This gives you all day to replenish all of your eatings throughout the day. I do only one body part a day and hit cardio at night. I follow the AST Max-OT workouts, but everyone has their personal niche. Abs, I do every other day but at least 3 days a week. Abs need to have rest just like any other muscle in your body. Numbers do not matter (quality over quantity) you can do a hundred crunches or whatever very fast, but do it with correct form and a slow (no swinging) count on your positive and negative movements you cannot go wrong. There are dozens of different exercises you can do, read up, try and see what is best for you. Your diet is the most important, accounts for about 70% of your success. I eat 6 small meals a day, keep you portions small and eat ***sensibly-diets do not work! Over the years I have read and been down the pitfalls of doing what magazines say and most of the time it is bs, especially the ads they have. Use common sense and it will come to you, each body has a different way of responding to different exercises and foods. Hope this helps and good luck, Marcus
Hey, I work out for one reason and one reason only- too look good naked period. The abs will be put to the test in 2 weeks at spring break in Mex!!!! I mean I enjoy working out and love the feeling after words but serious I only work out to get chicks. When your on the beach people dont go hey that guys huge he can lift 300 pounds. they go hey that guys ripped. And then say somethign to get your attention and you walk over bla bla bla digits-action-repeat.
Care to elaborate, so we could use it? How do you recommend one get rid of those? I am 21, 5'6" 146#s. I was #135 but dorm food has been my downfall
clarification, i'm not saying you should ignore your obliques for a total ab workout, just saying that doing side bends will NOT get rid of the love handles lafun: you have to lower your body fat. which, as most people know, consists of cardio AND equally important, building muscle mass. increase your basal metabolic rate and you'll burn calories all day and night, not just the time you're on the treadmill and maybe the 30 minutes after. re diet: eating out is the killer for most people. i don't think people realize how much butter, oil, grease almost ALL restaurants use (even the places that sell themselves as being "healthy"). most people probably eat more fat in 2 days than their body requires for a week.
Thank you. Yeah I need to stop eating the hamburgers and fried chicken at the cafeteria. Time to eat some chicken breasts and salads. New resolution for spring. Also this is probably stupid, but how does one increase thier basal metabolic rate? Thanks for the tip, really kind of you.
I have a so called "six pack" and it is the result of hard work. I work-out at the gym three days a week with a personal trainer. I do 45 minutes worth of weight training, 400 crunches and 20 minutes on the tread mill each of those three days. Exercise will increase your metabolism so much that you burn calories 24-7. I also drink 3 Myoplex shakes and eat 2 meals a day for a total of around 2500 calories. I am 6 feet tall, weigh 184 pounds with less than 10% body fat. You should note that only 6 months ago, I had no "six pack", and weighed 225 pounds and had 23% body fat. For the first 90 days I ate nothing that was white or came in a box or bag. Now, I eat pretty much what I want in moderation although I do still avaoid fried foods and bread. So, a major change in your body can happen in 6 months if you work at it.
