[johnegq22]

Please answer the following questions for me and other members on working out abs.

1. Should you work out abs once a week, every day, or just let them work themselves when doing compound lifts?

2. How many excercises should you do if you do work them out seperately?

3. How long should your total ab work out take?

[NerdFlexd]

depends what your looking for
for me i want more progress then just other compound lifts, so i do a separate workout. I usually do around 5-6 total sets of weighted crunches, weighted sit ups, leg raises, or cable crunches. Me personally, i do these sets differently from other muscles. Instead of doing reps from 6-8(strength building for me) i pick a weight where i can hit about 15 reps then failure. I dont know for sure, but from what i understand about muscles, doing the higher reps with an easier weight will produce tone muscle, which is what im looking for, rather then strong muscle.
Heres an example of my ab workout:
Leg Raises - 2xFailure
Weighted sit ups - 2x12-15 35lbs
Weighted crunch - 2x15-20 20lbs
if you do this right, at least for me, your abs will be screaming and most likely very very soar, but hey that means its working. and thats IMHO on abs.

[atrain11b]

Heres my take:

1. 3 Times a week, with each routine being different from the last.

2. I do 3-4 exercises with 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps on weighted ab days, and 3-4 sets of 15-25 reps on non weight resistance days.

3. As fast as possible. For me my abs respond better under constant tension, and low rest between sets. I do a lot of circuit Ab training, only resting as long as it takes to get to the next station. I spend no more then 10-15 on Abs per session.

All of the above is just how I do it after learning what works for me. My main goal is not ab definition, but core strength, and there are days where I throw all my standards out the window to attack the core differently. Just food for thought.

[suncloud]

Originally Posted by johnegq22

Please answer the following questions for me and other members on working out abs.

1. Should you work out abs once a week, every day, or just let them work themselves when doing compound lifts? If you're looking for core strength, working them out through compound lifts will do that, and better than isolation. If you want more definition, try working them directly, though it won't give you a six pack. To get the six pack you can cut, or do a GH promoting workout - which is really hard to do - hence why so many people opt to cut. You can work out your abs directly twice a week.

2. How many excercises should you do if you do work them out seperately? As many as it takes. Side planks, weighted crunch, decline weighted crunch, flutter kicks (or leg raises) combined will target all areas of the abs.

3. How long should your total ab work out take?

About 30 minutes.