How often do you work your abs???

Im 41 and just started hitting the gym hard again after way to many years away, been going 6 days a week since feb. I do abs all 6 days but target different areas every day. went from a fat 226 to 175lbs and now can finally see the six pack,now going for the eight pack. I just change it up alot as far as what i doing. also went from 36 jean size to a loose 32 now. I dont really know if this is the way to do it but seems to be working for me. I also dont do alot of incline sit ups only once a week 4 sets 15 reps.
 
abs can be hit everyday if you want. assuming they are not sore from the previous day if they are i would rest them until they dont feel sore than hit um again!
 
Twice a week between sets, not a very big muscle group so no point in over doing it.
 
Arnold Schwarzenegger suggests doing at least 5 sets for abdominals every workout. Other sources like mens health magazines say to do abs at the start of a workout if you feel like you will skip it after an intense lifting session. I personally hit abs twice a day. At the end of every workout and once again in the evening.

Its all about the tripple A my friends. Abs, Arms, and Ass. If you dont have those, you dont have sh*t.
 
Like everything else in life, or in bodybuilding I believe how much one does OF something is based on subjective perspective.

Everyone is different on a genetic level meaning everyone has different body types (endo, ecto, meso, or some people claim to have a combination of one or the other), different metabolic rates, etc. the list could go on forever.

I've seen some people who do no ab work whatsoever and have chisled and defiend abs, while others only do cardio and squats (or some other combination) and this seems to work for them. Whilst some people work there abs 5 days a week and see little results. The possibilities are endless.

The musculature of the abdominal region is like any other muscle in the body, it requires rest and recovery between sessions. It is thought that ab muscles do typically recover more quickly then the majority of other muscle groups (this is debatable some people argue, not myself).

I do ab work every other day, so about 4 days a week (in a 7 day week). I prefer weighted crunches & side crunches (for the obliques). I generally rise and decline slowly, while tightening and contracting my abdominal muscles to create the most resistance. Also you should switch up your ab routine just as you do any other muscle group to avoid plateauing.

Just my 2 cents, hope this helps.

Best,
WB
 
i'd stagger them in between sets of other exercises. it keeps your heart rate up giving you a bit of a cardiovascular workout too. once it starts impeding the progress of your main lifting I'd just cut it out and do it at the end of the workout 1x a week at least.

if you really want to improve the ab muscularity itself instead of just maintenance and fitness then i'd treat it just like any other body part, giving it a slot in your split and working it hard and to failure.
 
WannabeBatman said:
Like everything else in life, or in bodybuilding I believe how much one does OF something is based on subjective perspective.

Everyone is different on a genetic level meaning everyone has different body types (endo, ecto, meso, or some people claim to have a combination of one or the other), different metabolic rates, etc. the list could go on forever.

I've seen some people who do no ab work whatsoever and have chisled and defiend abs, while others only do cardio and squats (or some other combination) and this seems to work for them. Whilst some people work there abs 5 days a week and see little results. The possibilities are endless.

The musculature of the abdominal region is like any other muscle in the body, it requires rest and recovery between sessions. It is thought that ab muscles do typically recover more quickly then the majority of other muscle groups (this is debatable some people argue, not myself).

I do ab work every other day, so about 4 days a week (in a 7 day week). I prefer weighted crunches & side crunches (for the obliques). I generally rise and decline slowly, while tightening and contracting my abdominal muscles to create the most resistance. Also you should switch up your ab routine just as you do any other muscle group to avoid plateauing.

Just my 2 cents, hope this helps.

Best,
WB
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Exactly, I've never done ab work but all I need is a little cardio and they come poppin out
 
I just use the "core support" from doing squats, deads, military presses, and whatever else uses the stomach for stabilization.

I got fat over my 6-pack but I can feel 'em when I poke myself, and they feel hard :D
 
Thanks everyone. I think I am going to hit um up every other day. I'm going to treat them just like my other muscles. At my gym they have one of those resistance crunch machines so I think I'll go for 3 sets 12, 10, 8 increasing the what a lot like my other muscles. How does that sound?
 
Sounds good man. Experiment and figure out what works well for you.

Remember to switch up your ab routine occasionally as well, just like any other muscle group. Also remember that with the core region especially (or any other muscle group for that matter) its all about the quality of exercise not the quantity.


Best,
WB
 
abs (like calves) are a body part that seem to respond nicely in the majority of the population when they're hit several times a week (2-3x typically). like anything else, you'd have to see what works best for you. some people never even perform direct ab work as they get more than enough of a workout from compounds.
 
i usually hit em' 3-4 times a week off season beginning of a workout to loosen up, get heart rate up, stretch out my core. pre-contest abs are worked on all training days unless they are sore.
 
I do "abs" twice a week for ~100 reps in total per time. I also do a lot of core lifts, which is far more important than building up my abs specifically.

~Rosie
Team APPNUT
 
I gotta agree with rosie on this one, I work abs twice a week but for a 15-25 SS most ab work comes from the compound moves...
 
I train abs 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
I always hit upper, lower and side part of abdominal with different exercises.
Each part (upper, lower and side abdominal) gets 3 working sets.
Each set is consisted of 15-30 reps (until feel burned or failure).

I always vary my abs exercise to make sure the abs is hit by every angle.
i.e :
Crunches, Lying Leg Raises and Weighted Twists -> Abs workout #1
Decline Bench Sit-Ups, Hanging Leg Raises and Side Crunches -> Abs Workout #2
Weighted Crunches on Machine, Seated Knee-Ups, and Dumbbell Side Bends -> Abs Workout #3
Cable Crunches, Decline Bench Leg Raises, and Cable Side Bends on Machine -> Abs Workout #4
etc...

I also alternate between rest pause, supersets, high reps, core exercise, etc...
 
chris808costa said:
Thanks everyone. I think I am going to hit um up every other day. I'm going to treat them just like my other muscles. At my gym they have one of those resistance crunch machines so I think I'll go for 3 sets 12, 10, 8 increasing the what a lot like my other muscles. How does that sound?
Click to expand...
I actually don't think that sounds like close to enough.

I hit mine every other day and have great definition with my top and sides but lower is meh.

I do 3 sets of 25 crunches
4 30 second side planks - 2 each side
2 45 second front plants
3 sets of these (not sure what to call them...) at 15 per set:
Invalid Link Removed

Yellow said:
Each part (upper, lower and side abdominal) gets 3 working sets.
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Yellow - what would you say does the best job targeting your lower abbs? Is that you in your avatar? If so nice work man, very impressive.

X
 
xink said:
If you listed out your routine you might be surprised how often you're 'unintentionally' working it.
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i'm quite sure he means he doesn't hit his abs directly (which is the subject matter of this thread).
 
do pull ups on parrelel bars with your legs raised to the front, like your sitting, its like a mix between hanging leg raises and pull ups nothin has done more for my abs then these
 
I do abs two to three times a week. Try to switch it up between lower and upper exercises. 15-20 reps 3-4 sets an exercise. I been working at for 2 years and still cant see my ****ing abs. Most likely because of my once a week binge eating or that alcohol I enjoy drinking time to time. I do have a strong core which def. helps me with my squats.
 
currently once a wk sometimes I skip a week. but been doing db side bend on back days.
but when I was building them up months ago I was doing em 3x.
 
everyday, Ill alter from slow concentrated reps to just high reps..keeps the muscles guessing=growth, oh my rest days I dont do abs
 
As for myself what I think will be best is working them between sets of certain exercises. Cause at the end it's the last thing on earth I feel like doin, being drained from my WO's. There's a name for that but I can't recall. Jim Morris from Invalid Link Removed told me the best exercise for the abs is flexing the abs. I'd have to agree with him. He wrote me a program a few yrs. back, very demanding but very effective. I'll start posting it in my blogs, maybe some of you can get soemthing out of it. The guy is amazing.

Oh, sex is a great way to work the abs. I use it more for active recovery. Ha.
Another good one is the evil wheel! That thing is satan.
 
REEVESDIESEL said:
As for myself what I think will be best is working them between sets of certain exercises. Cause at the end it's the last thing on earth I feel like doin, being drained from my WO's. There's a name for that but I can't recall. Jim Morris from Invalid Link Removed told me the best exercise for the abs is flexing the abs. I'd have to agree with him. He wrote me a program a few yrs. back, very demanding but very effective. I'll start posting it in my blogs, maybe some of you can get soemthing out of it. The guy is amazing.
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true, ive been doing this, helps when in a hurry, or gym is full
:afro:
 
REEVESDIESEL said:
Right! He said do them till they cramp. It works great, it's a good hurt.
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I remind myself when doing them, if it doesn't make me wanna cry then Im not doing them enough.

And over the years, my abs have became more developed, you can feel every piece of your midsection working the more developed they are, then youll be able to work them better and grow better abs :)
 
REEVESDIESEL said:
the best exercise for the abs is flexing the abs.
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sooo true.. i did a photoshoot and the and the photographer had me flex my abs and hold them repeatedly. i didnt think anytthing of it at the time, but the next day they were sooo sore. so that became the staple of my abb training.

also they somehow become sharper. its hard to describe but the more u flex them the more crips they appear.
 
chris808costa said:
so how do you do it? Just flex them?
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Yep, flex them HARD, till it hurts. Hold for 3-4 secs, longer if you want. Brings out the definition really well. One of the ways BB's look so amazing at contests. Arnold use to set up photo shoots before contest because of all the flexing he's be doing for them. It's fun and just as hard as an actual WO. **** is demanding.
 
I workout 4 to 5 days a week and I make sure to do abs every time.

I usually do 3-4 sets of 25 on the incline. It's taking more and more to feel the burn, so I keep increasing until I actually feel it. Seems like I'm making progress but I'm not where I want to be.
 
i've always been chunky, so i lost weight like 30lbs, still had fat in the stomach area, but ppl commented that i was to skinny, so i've been trying to bulk up a bit, so like others have said it changes from person to person, i personally hit abs 3 times a week doing a different routine each time, i also like to throw in lifts that use the stomach muscle, pull ups, dips, squats, and actually tricep push downs with a rope at high weights make me really squeeze my ab muscles
 
Young Gotti said:
i've always been chunky, so i lost weight like 30lbs, still had fat in the stomach area, but ppl commented that i was to skinny, so i've been trying to bulk up a bit, so like others have said it changes from person to person, i personally hit abs 3 times a week doing a different routine each time, i also like to throw in lifts that use the stomach muscle, pull ups, dips, squats, and actually tricep push downs with a rope at high weights make me really squeeze my ab muscles
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You should try negative chins, pile on the wt. Work it at 4-8 secs, just always mixing it up. It's a ab killer.
 
i do a vary of exercises for them also. One of the main ones is putting the ab bench at full angle and start with 8lb med. ball x 12, 10lb med. ball x 12, then 25lb plate 10x. Has worked well with some development but I def. need to do something better to develop the lowers better. Doing hanging or roman chair lifts with no weight seem to do nothing but strenghten them but no more size. Any suggestions on developing the lowers to catch up with the top and middle ?
 
loki515 said:
i do a vary of exercises for them also. One of the main ones is putting the ab bench at full angle and start with 8lb med. ball x 12, 10lb med. ball x 12, then 25lb plate 10x. Has worked well with some development but I def. need to do something better to develop the lowers better. Doing hanging or roman chair lifts with no weight seem to do nothing but strenghten them but no more size. Any suggestions on developing the lowers to catch up with the top and middle ?
Click to expand...

Every "ab" exercise that you do is goig to target ALL areas of your rectus abdominus (since your "abs" are ONE muscle); some exercises just target some areas a little more than others. If you are trying to develop the lower region a little more, focus on hanging straight leg raises, hanging knee raises, etc. WITH weight; or do reverse curls, swiss ball double-leg raises, etc. Start thinking outside the box and experiment.

~Rosie
Team APPNUT
 
I love weighted controlled hanging leg raises w/ 4-8 sec eccentric phase. Suckers make you feel like your abs want to rip off and walk away. Just don't swing.
 
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