Training Abs

[daande]

What exercises? How many reps? How often? Etc...

[cog]

Do you have a pair of ab slings?

[warlock]

6 sets weighted ball crunches or cables 10/12 reps 2 or 3 X a week.

4 sets/8 reps of boomerangs (low ab pilates movement) 2X a week

NOt doing anything in that department for a while as my therapist asked me not

[daande]

Do you have a pair of ab slings?

No I dont even know what that is.

[cog]

You hang them on a cage or chin bar,slide your arms in to the elbow,makes it more comfortable to do hanging leg raises,wipers,windmills,etc.

[tex]

if you are looking to really strengthen you abs.....this is what I do

hanging leg raises 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps ( lower reps are with weight added)

decline situps 3-5 sets of 5-15 reps ( again...with weight added...I am up to 90 lbs on this for 10 reps )

[daande]

I am currently on a cutting diet trying to lower bodyfat and I want a 6pack so I know its mainly how low ur bf% is but I want workouts to maximize the deep cuts and separation when I hit that low bf%

[ironwill]

Im going to train abs this yr also....Im just starting to look at good workout routines...I like doing twists with broomstick, leg lifts while hanging, crunches and weighted crunches also...ive never trained thm yet, just locked them when doing many exercises.....
But as you said diet is the key....

[gsxr750]

Cable crunches are they called? I like. Take one of those ropes on the cable machine and get on your knees and do weighted crunches towards the floor. Just make sure Mr.O doesn't stand in front of you while you're on your knees, or try and sneak behind you

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/CBKneelingCrunch.html

[Dryvrgrl]

you guys suck!
actually, that's pure jealousy!
500 crunches a day with a medicine ball on ankles (knees up feet out ball on end)
200 iron cross (10 lb weight )
200 russian torture (10 lb weight)
100 horse (like the hanging crunches burt with a 5 pound weight between ankles and a side to side movement)
4 sets of plank to failure

Being abble to birth children is all well and good but we REALLY have to pay for it to get anything resembling abs!

[warlock]

you guys suck!
actually, that's pure jealousy!
500 crunches a day with a medicine ball on ankles (knees up feet out ball on end)
200 iron cross (10 lb weight )
200 russian torture (10 lb weight)
100 horse (like the hanging crunches burt with a 5 pound weight between ankles and a side to side movement)
4 sets of plank to failure

Being abble to birth children is all well and good but we REALLY have to pay for it to get anything resembling abs!

If you are a marathon runner that is a good work out to increase your endurance

[nitrous]

wow lol

[daande]

you guys suck!
actually, that's pure jealousy!
500 crunches a day with a medicine ball on ankles (knees up feet out ball on end)
200 iron cross (10 lb weight )
200 russian torture (10 lb weight)
100 horse (like the hanging crunches burt with a 5 pound weight between ankles and a side to side movement)
4 sets of plank to failure

Being abble to birth children is all well and good but we REALLY have to pay for it to get anything resembling abs!

Jesus. Is that not over training? Would it be more beneficial to train abs like any other body part ie6-12 reps as heavy as possible?

EDIT: Also maybe only 1-2 times a week?

[Mr Ontario]

Genetics for me :)

[O-Train]

With abdominals I think the way you perform the exercise is more important than the exercise you choose. Also keep in mind that leg lifting exercises work mainly the hip flexors. If you can do a proper body weight crunch, add in a bit of a twist for the obliques, that's all you need.

[L3]

3 sets of 20 sec vacccum pose ED is all i need

[cog]

That's a wicked routine,Dryvrgrl.

[Dryvrgrl]

im genetically designed to be fat!! lol

it's kinda weird... you just get used to it. the crunches are 6 days a week, then there is any combination of the other excercises to make up to 1000.

(competing in fitness is a little different too though, I think the core has to be really strong... did any of you guys ever try those holds? lol)

[natenator]

abs aren't that complicated boys.

bench crunches
hanging leg raises
rope crunches
decline bench crunches
leg lifts
etc
etc
etc

plus if you are squatting and deadlifting heavy they will get a ton of indirect work

[MikeyFXD35]

Front squats will strengthen your abs

[cog]

The core optimally needs more work than just a few twists for the obliques to be strong.Some unbalanced loads.For me it's dragging rebar.Brock uses a 180lb log.I suppose some would argue that it's not pure bodybuilding,not really necessary,but...

[Direwolf]

The abdominal muscle fiber make up is mainly fast-twich. Therefore, you need to train them heavy with low reps. Doing a milion crunches and stuff, will not do much for them. They'll tire out and it will be your hip flexors that will do most of the work. I actually find doing front deep squats (as in leaving a stain on the floor deep) give my core a hell of a workout as well. Split squats with a barbell are excellent as well since your abs, including your obliques work quite hard to keep you balanced.

[baza]

I do abs every 4-5 days. Genetically, I'm lucky, they are decent.
But what I've been doing the last few months, as above, heavy, weighted exercises, much like I'm training any other muscle group. I'm done abs in about 15 minutes.

Nothing has brought them out like heavy cable crunches have over the last couple months. I always said I wanted to be lean where my abs are always showing, without flexing, and this year I got there for the first time. The low bf of course helped, but they are actually bulging, which I will swear on, are from the heavy cable crunches. This year was also the first time I've done them.

I do weighted declines as well, as someone mentioned. Those work simlar, but the cables, resistance, and the isolation at the end of the crunch, I feel is unbeatable.