Low Fat? But hardly any Abs?

T

troydestroys

0
Okay, i am 14 years old and I workout my pecs and abs sometimes. I run at least 2 miles every week day. I don't think i have much body fat, but my abs hardly show. Do i need to do more cardio? Do i need to do ab workouts? How can i get more defined abs? Can someone also tell me how much body fat you think i have? Thanks for answering in advance .



Picture ^^
 
Your bodyfat % is low. How low? I'm not sure, but when I looked roughly the same way you do, I measured in between 7% and 12%. There is abdominal visibility there, but you simply don't have much muscle mass in general -- you can't show off what isn't there. I'm going to direct you here for the sort of training you should be doing. As for food (and yes, you do need to eat), to gain weight (pretty much a requirement if you want to build muscle, especially for someone with as little body fat as yourself) you need to be in a calorie surplus. I recommend adding about 250kcal onto the daily total of whatever you're currently eating, while making sure you're getting plenty of good, nutritious food and plenty of protein (doesn't need to be an insane amount, but don't abstain from protein, either).
 
Well, in your case, to get defined abs, you just need to train your abs more intense and frequently.If you want fast results, if you have time, and since you're 14 years old, you should start by doing about 100 abs almost every day of the week. When you get to 100 abs without doing much effort, increase the number of abs by aproximately 50. Just keep increasing the number of repetitions as you get used to it. Remember to do as many as you can before stopping. It requires some effort, but you will gain abs quickly.
 
^ I assume your advice is well-meaning, but it isn't particularly good. There's almost always a trade-off between frequency, volume and intensity. Most people can handle having one of those variables high if the other two are low-to-moderate, or two of them high with one low. 100 reps of intense ab work most days of the week is pushing all three into the high end, which is asking for problems.

Besides that, there are many abdominal exercises, some more effective than others (for the given goal), some more accessible than others, some safer than others. Are the 100 reps to be accumulated in one exercise? A couple exercises? Many? Are they to be performed in 1 set only? Across multiple sets?
 
Goldfish said:
^ I assume your advice is well-meaning, but it isn't particularly good. There's almost always a trade-off between frequency, volume and intensity. Most people can handle having one of those variables high if the other two are low-to-moderate, or two of them high with one low. 100 reps of intense ab work most days of the week is pushing all three into the high end, which is asking for problems.

Besides that, there are many abdominal exercises, some more effective than others (for the given goal), some more accessible than others, some safer than others. Are the 100 reps to be accumulated in one exercise? A couple exercises? Many? Are they to be performed in 1 set only? Across multiple sets?
Click to expand...

First of all, I am refering to sit-ups (sorry!) repeated 100 times (with rest, if necessary), in one set. 100 sit-ups isn't that much, even for a 14 year old boy. Sit ups are the best exercise for a 14 year old boy to gain abs. And doing 100 sit-ups everyday won't cause any problem to a 14 year old. I used to do 250 sit-ups almost every day when I was 15 and it never caused me any problems. But I started off doing just 100.
 
Without getting into a discussion as to whether or not sit ups are all that great, doing as many as you can is high intensity, especially if each rep is done properly (and if it isn't, then that's a whole other issue that'll cause ineffective workouts at best, injury at worst). 100 reps is definitely high volume, and doing it daily is definitely high frequency. You have a sample size of 1 -- a broader range of examples will easily demonstrate all the things that can go wrong from doing 100 sit ups a day (or as many as possible) in someone who isn't conditioned for it. Age is really one of the least important factors with regards to how many sit ups you'll be able to start out doing.

Here's a look at one of many things that could go wrong:
 
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I read that article. And they say that rhabdomyolysis only happens when people push themselves to the limit frequently, but that limit varies with the physical condition of each person. The kid said he works his abs sometimes, and that he runs everyday. So I'm sure he is physically prepared to do what I said.
 
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