I’m curious peoples perspective on how abs should and shouldn’t be trained. The myths etc etc. train abs Avery day good or bad. Train them heavy? Or the standard type high rep body weight. Ive been told that on gear or certain types of gear you don’t want to train them heavy for some reason. I generally train everyday. Body weight and some decline w 25lbs. I have been giving some thought into heavy training low reps. Again. Curious everyone’s thoughts on any or all of these.
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Ab training. A discussion
- Thread starter Gixjon22
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wsmwannabe
New Member
It depends on your goals. Those that say you shouldn’t train them daily are likely associated with bodybuilding in some way, where you don’t want a big waist. Ab, or core, training should be done consistently and possibly daily. Especially if you are in a strength sport, the core connects your upper body and lower body and is important for many type of compound lifts
Test_Subject
New Member
I do a few ab roller or hanging leg raise sets here and there, but most of my ab training is indirect from heavy compounds.
I don’t really back squat all that much. 90% of my squat sessions are front squats, so that hits my abs hard. I do Z presses once a week and those hit abs hard.
It really depends on what your training looks like. If you don’t do a lot of movements that indirectly target your abs hard in your training, you’re probably going to have to do more typical ab work.
It also depends on your goals. Bodybuilding doesn’t require your abs to be exceptionally strong, they just need to look good. If your abs aren’t strong in powerlifting/strongman, you’re going to fold yourself in half and die.
I don’t really back squat all that much. 90% of my squat sessions are front squats, so that hits my abs hard. I do Z presses once a week and those hit abs hard.
It really depends on what your training looks like. If you don’t do a lot of movements that indirectly target your abs hard in your training, you’re probably going to have to do more typical ab work.
It also depends on your goals. Bodybuilding doesn’t require your abs to be exceptionally strong, they just need to look good. If your abs aren’t strong in powerlifting/strongman, you’re going to fold yourself in half and die.
I try to do ab/calf work on any days when I have a little extra gas at the end of my workout. 4-5 sets of each, 2-3 times a week.
I went through a phase where I would come back to the gym and do abs as a second workout in the evening. I'm pretty lean, so that dedicated ab work did make a difference aesthetically, although it's definitely not necessary in my opinion.
I went through a phase where I would come back to the gym and do abs as a second workout in the evening. I'm pretty lean, so that dedicated ab work did make a difference aesthetically, although it's definitely not necessary in my opinion.
JC Grifter
Member
On a cycle I can’t really train abs. I get the nastiest abdominal cramps for some reason.
bob357sig
Member
I have been doing crunches every night just before bed. Whenever I tried doing them at the gym at the end of a workout I usually get lazy after about 2 weeks and stop. I am on a personal mission to lose my gut so by forcing myself to drop down on the floor and knock them out before bed also keeps me from snacking before bed( the main reason I still have a gut). I am making progress, just going to take time. I know abs are all about diet/ body fat but sence working them like this I can control my gut a lot better, keep it tight throughout the day- not all lazy and stretched out “ bloated looking “ as for the body weight vs weight question: if you just want to do them for appearance reasons then body weight is fine. For a solid/ more powerful core then use weight and work them like any muscle you want bigger, just if you use weight don’t do every day, maby MWF. Body weight you can do everyday. This is what I have always been told.
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My rules on ab training:
1. Fuck side bends or weighted obliques, they are worthless for aesthetics and are more detrimental to a V shape than anything.
2. Fuck weighted ab work, simply not necessary, strong contractions and bodyweight is all that is needed for a great set of abs that look proportional. The abs are one of the few muscles that grows larger with age, so the goal is to keep them smaller and more in line with being "in shape" and not overly developed. Weighted ab work is out for me.
3. Abs are a good sign of what type of condition you are in. Like Serge Nubret once said, his ab training was looked at more like cardio for his midsection, I'm definitely in line with this train of thought now.
4. Abs requires nothing fancy, basically 2 different exercises for me, either a sit up motion of bringing the body to the knees or a leg raise motion of bringing the knees to the body. Anything else is unnecessary and the obliques will come in with a good diet and the tighter you get, no fancy twists or oblique work needed.
That's all for now, based on 25 years of trial and error, LOL
1. Fuck side bends or weighted obliques, they are worthless for aesthetics and are more detrimental to a V shape than anything.
2. Fuck weighted ab work, simply not necessary, strong contractions and bodyweight is all that is needed for a great set of abs that look proportional. The abs are one of the few muscles that grows larger with age, so the goal is to keep them smaller and more in line with being "in shape" and not overly developed. Weighted ab work is out for me.
3. Abs are a good sign of what type of condition you are in. Like Serge Nubret once said, his ab training was looked at more like cardio for his midsection, I'm definitely in line with this train of thought now.
4. Abs requires nothing fancy, basically 2 different exercises for me, either a sit up motion of bringing the body to the knees or a leg raise motion of bringing the knees to the body. Anything else is unnecessary and the obliques will come in with a good diet and the tighter you get, no fancy twists or oblique work needed.
That's all for now, based on 25 years of trial and error, LOL
Deadlifts and heavy squat triples.
: )
: )
Deadlifts are such a double edged sword when it comes to physique development. Personally speaking they helped me build a pretty massive back, but they did make my midsection more blocky and straight up and down from waist to lats. Oh well, can't have it all I suppose
100% the truth right here lol
And then there was the hemorrhoid surgery, but that's a horror story for another time.
Themassterplan
Member
I do it unweighted most days with one day a week of weighted stuff. If you’re just looking for a sick six pack when you’re lean enough, you don’t really ever need the weighted stuff. I did it more to support my overall heavy weight training.
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