Training Abs when you have high BF

1Fast400 Forums > Training


Posted by: ytj81569 Jun 11 2008, 08:18 AM
I am currently dedicating my 5 days to fat reducing exercises (heavy squats, compound etc.) ontop of my lofat diet and progress has been good.

I still have a noticable gut and love handles even though they are slowly dissapearing they seem to be lagging compared to other bodyparts.

I know you cannot spot reduce, but I wonder if I should dedicate 1 workout per week for abs?
I currently do a couple of sets of crunches but nothing serious before each workout.
Would I see a noticable tightening of the stomach and waist area with an ab workout even if I have high bodyfat (20%)? Or should I continue with my current regime and only concentrate on abs when my BF is lower.

My time is precious and so are my energy reserves laugh.gif So I dont want to waste time on unnecessary exercises when I could be more productive.

Any advice guys?

Posted by: Light Weight Baby Jun 11 2008, 11:20 AM
Adding muscle underneath would most likely make it tighter, but also stick out more at the same time... unless you are real worried about having to big of a waist, I'd train abs hard along with everything else so when you finally get bf down low you'll have them built nicely as well. Good luck.

Posted by: Tswole Jun 11 2008, 01:18 PM
i'd throw abs in twice a week, about 2-3 days between each other, AFTER your workout. do about 25-50 reps for 6 sets, maybe 2-3 different ab exercises.

dont add weight. just do body weight exercises. you dnt want to build bricks on your stomach to stick out past your chest.

Posted by: azfittrainer Jun 11 2008, 01:53 PM
I wouldn't work them directly more than 2 times a week.

Posted by: var Jun 12 2008, 04:21 PM
abs are like the only body part you can work almost every day in my opinion. if you don't want them BIG (not sure if you ever actually commented on how you want your abs to appear or if people just assumed) just use bodyweight and go high reps. you'll end up with nice flat washboards. really though core is so important and hard to exhaust it's worth going 3/4 days.

Posted by: cc-10 Jun 12 2008, 04:30 PM
i try and do core after deadlift and squat days b/c i already hit my core on those lifts might as well finish them off .... some times heavy rack pulls will make my abs real sore

Posted by: Lorken Jun 12 2008, 04:35 PM
I was in your same boat. I was ~23% BF, and decided not to train my abs untill I started to cut because I didn't want my gut sticking out any more. Then I cut 40lbs, and am 10% BF, and I was disappointed I couldn't see my abs, when other people who are 10% can clearly see theirs.

So if I could do things differently, I would have done abs more often when I was tubby. You'll likely see them sooner if you do.

Posted by: azfittrainer Jun 12 2008, 04:36 PM
QUOTE (var @ Jun 12 2008, 04:21 PM)
abs are like the only body part you can work almost every day in my opinion. if you don't want them BIG (not sure if you ever actually commented on how you want your abs to appear or if people just assumed) just use bodyweight and go high reps. you'll end up with nice flat washboards. really though core is so important and hard to exhaust it's worth going 3/4 days.

Abs are like any other muscle, they need time off. If you're doing heavy core lifts like Squats, Deads, Etc you're hitting them every time you lift. Combine that with a couple days of direct training and you're hitting them 5 days a week.

Posted by: ytj81569 Jun 13 2008, 02:00 PM
How long did it take to lose the 10% bodyfat?

Have you any tips - diet or exercise wise?

Posted by: Mustang69 Jun 13 2008, 03:52 PM
AP like crazy & as much as u can... dun 4get water!

Posted by: var Jun 13 2008, 05:10 PM
QUOTE (azfittrainer @ Jun 12 2008, 04:36 PM)
QUOTE (var @ Jun 12 2008, 04:21 PM)
abs are like the only body part you can work almost every day in my opinion. if you don't want them BIG (not sure if you ever actually commented on how you want your abs to appear or if people just assumed) just use bodyweight and go high reps. you'll end up with nice flat washboards. really though core is so important and hard to exhaust it's worth going 3/4 days.

Abs are like any other muscle, they need time off. If you're doing heavy core lifts like Squats, Deads, Etc you're hitting them every time you lift. Combine that with a couple days of direct training and you're hitting them 5 days a week.

abs are not like every other muscle. how often are your abs sore? i'd be surprised if they ever were if you only work them 2 days a week. like you said i work mine almost every day as a result of the core influencing other exercises, and directly work them maybe 4/7 days of the week. and they are never sore, their endurance is through the roof compared to the rest of my muscle groups. i believe in the case of abs, more intensity is required, and more frequency doesn't hurt. most people (not all i admit) only want a six pack anyway - some lean definition. you'll get that in the abs from repeated effort without worrying about hypertrophy and recovery. i would maintain that for most people, abs are the one muscle you just need to bust over and over again to get real results. you might disagree, but empirically this has been the case for me.

Posted by: Vaporize Jun 13 2008, 07:41 PM
QUOTE (var @ Jun 13 2008, 05:10 PM)
QUOTE (azfittrainer @ Jun 12 2008, 04:36 PM)
QUOTE (var @ Jun 12 2008, 04:21 PM)
abs are like the only body part you can work almost every day in my opinion. if you don't want them BIG (not sure if you ever actually commented on how you want your abs to appear or if people just assumed) just use bodyweight and go high reps. you'll end up with nice flat washboards. really though core is so important and hard to exhaust it's worth going 3/4 days.

Abs are like any other muscle, they need time off. If you're doing heavy core lifts like Squats, Deads, Etc you're hitting them every time you lift. Combine that with a couple days of direct training and you're hitting them 5 days a week.

abs are not like every other muscle. how often are your abs sore? i'd be surprised if they ever were if you only work them 2 days a week. like you said i work mine almost every day as a result of the core influencing other exercises, and directly work them maybe 4/7 days of the week. and they are never sore, their endurance is through the roof compared to the rest of my muscle groups. i believe in the case of abs, more intensity is required, and more frequency doesn't hurt. most people (not all i admit) only want a six pack anyway - some lean definition. you'll get that in the abs from repeated effort without worrying about hypertrophy and recovery. i would maintain that for most people, abs are the one muscle you just need to bust over and over again to get real results. you might disagree, but empirically this has been the case for me.

pics to prove it?

Posted by: hadi_D Jun 13 2008, 08:37 PM
You dont have to work them everyday, they are like every other Muscle. But you can activate them, just doing vary little but just to get by with warming them up. Also I dont believe in that if you use weights then you will have bulky abs. I have one arm, train my abs with alot of weight or with alot of reistence so the next day i cant laugh cause they hurt so bad. I dont have bulky abs. If you dont do abs with weights and eat carbs and protein in the right amont and right times you will not get abs. What you will have is a flat stomach or under developed abs. Your Nutrition is what gets you abs!!!!

Posted by: Mustang69 Jun 14 2008, 09:06 AM


i wudnt worry about developing *overly bulging abs* unless ur where really workin them for mass... like heavy weight low rep sets &maybe abusing ph\aas @the same time

Posted by: Light Weight Baby Jun 14 2008, 09:16 AM
I agree. The whole "use body weight or get block abs" myth is retarded. A lot of today's pros get huge abs because they can do high rep sets of very heavy weight that requires a lot of core strength... like squatting 500 for like 8 reps or whatever.

Posted by: cc-10 Jun 14 2008, 05:53 PM
QUOTE (Lorken @ Jun 12 2008, 05:35 PM)
I was in your same boat. I was ~23% BF, and decided not to train my abs untill I started to cut because I didn't want my gut sticking out any more. Then I cut 40lbs, and am 10% BF, and I was disappointed I couldn't see my abs, when other people who are 10% can clearly see theirs.

So if I could do things differently, I would have done abs more often when I was tubby. You'll likely see them sooner if you do.

i did the same thing a year ago....real big learning experience...

Posted by: azfittrainer Jun 14 2008, 08:12 PM
QUOTE (var @ Jun 13 2008, 05:10 PM)
QUOTE (azfittrainer @ Jun 12 2008, 04:36 PM)
QUOTE (var @ Jun 12 2008, 04:21 PM)
abs are like the only body part you can work almost every day in my opinion. if you don't want them BIG (not sure if you ever actually commented on how you want your abs to appear or if people just assumed) just use bodyweight and go high reps. you'll end up with nice flat washboards. really though core is so important and hard to exhaust it's worth going 3/4 days.

Abs are like any other muscle, they need time off. If you're doing heavy core lifts like Squats, Deads, Etc you're hitting them every time you lift. Combine that with a couple days of direct training and you're hitting them 5 days a week.

abs are not like every other muscle. how often are your abs sore? i'd be surprised if they ever were if you only work them 2 days a week. like you said i work mine almost every day as a result of the core influencing other exercises, and directly work them maybe 4/7 days of the week. and they are never sore, their endurance is through the roof compared to the rest of my muscle groups. i believe in the case of abs, more intensity is required, and more frequency doesn't hurt. most people (not all i admit) only want a six pack anyway - some lean definition. you'll get that in the abs from repeated effort without worrying about hypertrophy and recovery. i would maintain that for most people, abs are the one muscle you just need to bust over and over again to get real results. you might disagree, but empirically this has been the case for me.

Thats my point, between the work they get from doing core lifts, and direct ab work, they are being worked every day. You need to allow your abs to recover so you can properly do squats, dead lifts, etc.

Posted by: DR X Jun 15 2008, 12:09 AM
I do abs on leg day, the only day I won't do cardio so I spend approx 20 minutes on abs and do this year around.