Should I be working out my abs?

bla55

bla55

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Alright ladies and gent,

Here is my question; I am well aware that abs are done in the kitchen, not at the gym. I'm sitting at 11% BF but my body composition sucks real bad and I have literally all of my fat sitting pretty on my lower abs. I'm 6'4'', 215, and all of my fat is on my lower abs. I have veins popping everywhere else on my body but still can't see the bottom bottles of my 6 pack.

I have been on a good recomp with mild weight loss, but here is my question; if I'm looking to lose the belly and get the trimmed look, should I be doing sit ups and working out my abs or will that not change much / worsen the look?

I feel like when I used to work them out it would push my stomach forward as they gained size, but not necessarily give me the 6pack. I did a lot of stomach vacuum but still would be "big" looking.

Does it help or harm to workout your abs heavy when you're going for the flat stomach look and you keep all your fat there?

Thanks in advance!
 

JD261985

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Alright ladies and gent,

Here is my question; I am well aware that abs are done in the kitchen, not at the gym. I'm sitting at 11% BF but my body composition sucks real bad and I have literally all of my fat sitting pretty on my lower abs. I'm 6'4'', 215, and all of my fat is on my lower abs. I have veins popping everywhere else on my body but still can't see the bottom bottles of my 6 pack.

I have been on a good recomp with mild weight loss, but here is my question; if I'm looking to lose the belly and get the trimmed look, should I be doing sit ups and working out my abs or will that not change much / worsen the look?

I feel like when I used to work them out it would push my stomach forward as they gained size, but not necessarily give me the 6pack. I did a lot of stomach vacuum but still would be "big" looking.

Does it help or harm to workout your abs heavy when you're going for the flat stomach look and you keep all your fat there?

Thanks in advance!
I tend to have the same issue and yes I think gaining abdominal size pushes the abs out which pushes the fat out even farther. Abs are built best by heavy compound movements that work your core. Many pros don't even work their abs directly on the off season. There's a lot more to it than just "abs are made in the kitchen" lol but until you're ready to diet down and do a full cut you're lower abs probably won't be visible. Of course steroids and other chemicals will help if you use them but if you decide to go naturally just realize it will take a lot of effort and work. You don't choose where your body sheds fat. When you cut one supplement that I would definitely recommend is abliderate advanced for localized fat loss. Also remember not all of that might be fat it could also be water weight
 
tjbruno

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I believe genetics also come into play in this, I'm pretty sure it dictates whether there will be separation in the lower ab or one 'solid' ab if that makes sense. If you look at my avatar I basically have the same thing you described. I wouldn't worry about ab work directly, but I know some do. If you can clearly see all your abs except there's no separation in the bottom, then I doubt anything short of trying to shed more fat would help that...
 
Rodja

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Abs are like any other muscle: they can be worked indirectly, but should be worked directly. Very, very rarely will the entire core complex be firing 100% in all areas and direct work is the only to ensure this. Most focus too much on trunk flexion instead of shifting focus to rotational and anti-flexion movements.
 
bla55

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I indirectly train abs on a daily basis as I boxe 4 days a week, so the rotation and all the indirect training is there.

Also on squats, deads, etc compound movements on my 3x lifting during the week. But my real concern was as pointed, this is the only area I retain fat, Caliper wise for instance, on a 7 fold method I will be hiting sub-8mm on all folds and then score a beauty of a 13+ on Suprailiac and Abdominal. I get to the 5's on the other folds before I drop sub-10 on my abs.

So the question is basically whether I would have more "trimmed looking" abs considering I will most likely hold fat right there if I were to work out my abs heavily or if I were to leave them be and just continue focus on my nutrition and wait till I'm sub 10% BF.
 
Rodja

Rodja

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I indirectly train abs on a daily basis as I boxe 4 days a week, so the rotation and all the indirect training is there.

Also on squats, deads, etc compound movements on my 3x lifting during the week. But my real concern was as pointed, this is the only area I retain fat, Caliper wise for instance, on a 7 fold method I will be hiting sub-8mm on all folds and then score a beauty of a 13+ on Suprailiac and Abdominal. I get to the 5's on the other folds before I drop sub-10 on my abs.

So the question is basically whether I would have more "trimmed looking" abs considering I will most likely hold fat right there if I were to work out my abs heavily or if I were to leave them be and just continue focus on my nutrition and wait till I'm sub 10% BF.
Think of this way then: doesn't every other muscle look better when it's trained?
 

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