question about abs

J

jeffreypg64

0
ive always heard the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" so i was wondering, if this is true, and assuming you can reduce your bodyfat, than why bother working your abs? would it be wiser to work on other body parts that would benefit more from weights?
 
jeffreypg64 said:
ive always heard the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" so i was wondering, if this is true, and assuming you can reduce your bodyfat, than why bother working your abs? would it be wiser to work on other body parts that would benefit more from weights?
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You want to exercise your abs so you have good abdominal " tone " - i.e by " tone ' I mean your abs muscles are in a high level of conrtaction when at rest.
 
You can do compound exercises that work the core as a secondary muscle group, or do iso work on abs a few times a week. Abs are like any other muscle. Just because you're skinny with low BF doesn't mean you have a six pack, you need to have muscle there.
 
Not to mention your core connects your legs to your upper body. Having a weak core is highly impractical when doing things which require a certain level of strength.
 
jeffreypg64 said:
ive always heard the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" so i was wondering, if this is true, and assuming you can reduce your bodyfat, than why bother working your abs? would it be wiser to work on other body parts that would benefit more from weights?
Click to expand...
Not much will benefit you more than having a solid core. Everything hangs off of it, so to have a weak core with raging biceps would be functionally useless.
 
honestly, its a combination. you need to build your core up for functional reasons, avoiding injury, etc.
but to get them visible, you need low low bodyfat, and that's really a function of your diet.

but if you have low low bodyfat and no muscle tone...you have no abs.
so you can't have one without the other.

which is why all the 'ab roller/ball/cruncher' products out there are useless if you don't eat right and do other types of exercises/activities to burn off the fat.
 
Abs in the kitchen and the gym

Yes it is true that to make your abs visible the best place to start is in the kitchen. Although I would considering dieting probably about 70% of achieving the abs worthy of a magazine cover, make sure that you are regularly working your abs at the gym or at home. Depending on the intensity of your workouts (only you can be the judge) abs do well when trained 2-3 times per week. I would recomend 2 times a week for those inclined to complete a more intense ab routine. Also, the question may arise regarding training abs with added resistance (more than body weight), this is truly a matter of how you want your abs to look. Generally, the more weighted resistance you use during ab workouts, the more full your abs are going to look (they tend to stick out). This look appeals to some. Personally, I prefer a more flat toned set of abs. For this just do slow perfectly controlled sets with little or no extra weight. Make sure you go until the burn really sets in. Recomended 12-15 reps per set. Be sure to visit my new blog for updated info on the latest tips and workouts at project-fitness.blogspot.com
 
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15 reps is a good upper limit on how many repititions to do per set. The key about the 15 reps is finding the correct speed and resistance that enables you to get proper work in. I personally like limiting myself to 12 reps because my current goal is to build a bit more size onto my abs. Remember abs are just like any other muscle, heavy weight (and slower reps) promotes more growth while a high number of reps provide a more toning based workout.
 
What you can't forget though is that abs can't really get that big. There is a very limited amount the abdominal muscles can gain.
 
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