abs 8509849545

[CF-OC_gal]

This is a good discussion! I am of the belief that, like everything else, your Ab-beauty is largely genetic yet your ab strength can be enhanced through function specific exercise.

Some people don't naturally have the ability to display a complete or well defined set of abs depending on how they carry their body fat. They may be able to display them beautifully for periods of time at unrealistic low body fat, but they may never be able to get the "magazine cover look" they drool for. Some abs look flat but outlined and some look thick and puffy (all natural training of course). That is all genetics.

On the other hand the saying, "you can't chisel a pebble" has some worth in this discussion too. You've got to stimulate muscle development to get results.

In my own experience as one who has a tendency to grow and hold onto midriff fat (not just since middle age), I have made more progress through heavy compound body movements and isometric holds (in combination) than through isolation exercises alone (things like situps, crunches, leg raises)

[.V.]

I'm going to suggest direct ab work too. If they are bigger, when the fat that covers them is gone...they look better and are easier to see.

But not too much. Crunches, cable crunches, or any similar movement a couple of times a week is enough.

[CF-OC_gal]

Never seen anyone have better abs with direct ab work exclusively. It's always in combination with hard and I mean intense work on other exercise where the abs are engaged to stabilize the core.

[.V.]

Right you are brat. Like was already said before by a few others. The "real lifts" that use the abs as stabilizers help a great deal. But tossing in a few sets of direct ab work each week helps them out even more.

Take a look at Todd's abs. Even in his so called "fat" pic he had up a while back...they were damn impressive. Unless he's changed his ways, he does heavy compounds for most everything and for the abs - 2 sets of direct ab work a week.

I prefer 7 sets a week...but obviously he knows more than me and has way better results.

[etothepii]

Many people diet and quit although their most stubborn fat remains. For lost of people, men and women, that's belly fat. Try dieting (with exercise, of course) for a while and stick to it. If you find you are losing fat, but the stubborn belly remains, try this:

Getting rid of stubborn bodyfat - by Lyle McDonald

Without going into the brutally long and complicated mental computations that led me to this (and I'm still working on the overall scheme), here's my current thoughts on how to approach it.

First and foremost, this is one of the places where morning/pre-breakfast cardio is probably crucially important.

An hour or two before cardio, take 200 mg caffeine with 1-3 grams of L-tyrosine (NO ephedrine).

There are two segments to the cardio:

- The first segment is for mobilization, to get those stubborn fatty acids out of the fat cell.
- The second segment is the oxidation part, to burn them off in the muscle.

For the first segment of the cardio, use a machine that you don't normally use. So if you normally do the treadmill, do the first segment on the stairmaster or bike or something. Just make it different.

First segment:
warmup: 3-5 minutes
go hard: 5-10 minutes. I mean hard, as hard as you can stand for the entire time. This will NOT be fun on lowered blood glucose. I've considered putting intervals here but haven't found the data I need to make up my mind. If you do intervals, go something like 5X1' all out with a 1' break (10' total intervals)

Rest 5', just sit on your butt, drink water, try not to puke.

Go to your normal cardio machine. Do at least 30 minutes at moderate/high moderate intensity (below lactate threshold but decent intensity). I'd say 45' maximum here but I'm still making up my mind and looking at data.

Go home, and wait and hour before having a small protein meal (25-50 grams or so). No dietary fat. 2-3 hours later, go back to normal diet eating. Your daily calories shouldn't be any different than they were already, they are just distributed differently, you only have 100-200 immediately after cardio, and then the rest afterwards.

I'd do that maybe 3 days per week to start, and see what happens.

Why this works

To get stubborn fat mobilized, you have to overcome a fairly severe resistance in terms of both blood flow and lipolysis, this requires very high concentrations of catecholamines (adrenaline/noradrenaline). Sadly, jacking up levels of catecholamines (necessary for mobilization) limits burning in the muscle which is why you follow the high intensity with low intensity.

Basically, you jack up levels to get the fat mobilized, and then let them fall so that the fatty acid can be burned in the muscle.

I have a study showing that Ephedrine before intense activity lowers the catecholamine response, that's the reason for avoiding it. Studies also show a lower than normal catecholamine response as people adapt to a given type of cardio; doing a different machine will result in a higher catecholamine response than you'd other wise get.

The bigger problem with stubborn fat has to do with:

- Blood flow to the fat cells: which is typically very low, odds are your butt is cold to the touch compared to other areas of your body
- It's harder to mobilize: both because of impaired blood flow, and because of adrenoceptor issues.

If you're not into the supplements mentioned, just try the exercise protocol.

I have found that vigorous weight lifting, followed by a brief rest, followed by high intensity cardio (along with diet) reduced some of my most stubborn fat stores (which on me is my calves and ankles -- wierd for a guy).

[sweetdream]

thanks a lot guys!!!!!! i love this site!! I am not going to worry too much about them now I guess considering I just started changing my eating habits and becoming more active. I think I just want too much in a short amount of time.

I must tell everyone though....I feel great just because I am doing good for my body and I am exercising and eating right!!!!

BRAT and others... intensity and other words related to this one I see a lot on here and in regards to working out. Sometimes I feel like I am not doing things intense enough, I am not falling over when I do my last sets (sometimes I'm not) does this mean I am not giving it my all? I know that you are supposed to do a weight heavy enough that on your last set it's hard to get the last one in, but I fear injuries and the like. Any opinions on a irect definition of intense?