Getting a SIX Pack! HELP/Advice

[Macgyvercas]

here you go

<img width=300>http://timesonline.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/16/six_pack.jpg

You...glorious...ninja.

OT: Crunches...lots and lots of crunches.

 

[Xojins]

I started working out again recently, and this site [www.stronglifts.com] has helped me out a lot. There's everything you need to know about nutrition, exercises, technique, and even workout routines. Definitely worth a look at least.

 

[DustyDrB]

Why do you want a six-pack so badly? What's the end goal?

Seriously? A six-pack is the goal. I don't care how conceited I sound, it just looks good at the beach.

Sounds like what you're doing is good. I don't know the name of the specific type of crunch, but try twisting to one side before beginning the motion, coming back down flat, then twisting to the other side.

I'm so bad at remembering the names.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

My question is what else do you think needs to be done and if I were to stick to this current plan how long it would take me to get a 6 pack?

I wish I could answer, but I've had mine for as long as I've had muscles, so I can't say for sure. Really, for abdominal muscles, I highly recommend avoiding sit-ups. (Furthermore, use crunches sparingly.) They test the strength of the abs, true, but they're a strain on the back and can increase likelihood of injury to the lower back. Seriously [http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/ab-exercises-why-sit-ups-crunches-are-bad-for-you-523288.html].

As the article suggests, the abdomen isn't really any single-use muscle. It's a stabilizer. Anything that keeps your back straight when the force applied tries to bend the back is a functional abdominal exercise. This can be anything from opening a door to walking upright when balance is compromised. There are workout routines designed around this, but I'm afraid I'm primarily unaware of them.

Either way, just use them a lot, and be careful with your lower back. Good luck.

 

[Lord George]

My current plan is:
5-6 days a week in the gym for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 mins (as I have to do revision for exams)
In these sessions I would do a 5km-6km run, 100-200 crunches, 20 reps of foot toe crunches.
Also as I have researched apparently tensing ur abs during exercise increases cardio burn and helps tone ur abs slightly so I am pretty much 24/7 tensing my abs slightly (more core is excellent as a result of rowing).

Then in the evenings I would do some crunches also - steadily increasing the number over the next few weeks. I would also give up white bread with cream cheese (the only bad thing I eat) and I estimate return my diet to a deficit of energy input vs output.

My question is what else do you think needs to be done and if I were to stick to this current plan how long it would take me to get a 6 pack

Your plan sounds pretty solid ,though you might want to consider doing 2-3 2 hour sessions a week instead if you don't need to lose enough weight to actually see your six pack. I managed to get one after around 3-4 months of hard crunches, though I was only doing around 100-150 a day so you should take roughly half the time. Good luck.

(Also keep in mind once you've got it you'll have to keep maintaining it, after being lazy for the last few months my 6 pack turned into a 1 pack )

 

[mocruz1200]

im going to go out on a limb here and say you've recently seen 300

 

[omega 616]

I am not an expert in health and fitness but I do read alot of "fighters only" which is a magazine about UFC fighters, it also tells you how some fighters train and some work outs.

In one issue they said 6 pack actually makes you weaker, it's something to do with your core muscles.

If you still want it/them then I suggest leg lifts.

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Leg-Lifts.

Just don't let your backside leave the floor or bend your knees, use your abs to lift your legs.

It sounds like it wouldn't do much but I used to do it to work the lower abs.

Weirdly chin ups worked my top abs a little, them two along with normal crunches got me a faint 6 pack, if I had stopped eating pure junk food I would have had a 6 pack.

I never dedicated myself to doing 100+ crunches or doing them once a week so I am baffled as to how I even got them very faintly. So if anybody calls bullshit I wouldn't blame them.

 

[Kelbear]

Well I would like some advice on how to get a six pack if your willing to offer it! Please read below for details.


Well I feel quite silly as about 6 months ago I gave up rowing and swapped it for running and light gym work about once or twice a week.

When I rowed I did it for about 4 years and 16-18 hours a week and my fitness was tip top and I never got a six pack because I was unwilling to give up 'bad' foods and so my weight stayed the same - I was by no means pudgy but I was not super thin either.

Anyway when I gave up rowing I also gave up 'bad' foods and drinks - living off grapes, fruits and what many would consider 'healthy' food. As a result - despite my fitness decreasing somewhat my killer combination of 'good' diet and weekly exercise of about 1 hour each session (some weeks I would do 1 or 2 sessions) lost my about 10kg in weight over the last 6 months.

So I am now what you might consider thin - by no means 'too' thin, but when I squeeze the tummy fat, I can just about get a pointer finger's width of fat between the fingers without tensing my muscles and so when I stand up I can if I breathe in very easily see my ribs skeletal form plus I have a friend who is about 2 inches taller and is 1kg heavier than me who has a six pack so I recon my % body fat is low. My stomachs shape is concave somewhat also and my BMI suggests I am 20.21 roughly which suggests I am on the lower end of healthy weight for my height and age. My height is just under 6ft and I weigh in at 64kg.

Anyway - I decided I want a six pack! and that this whole 1 - 2 gym session a week is not enough.

My current plan is:
5-6 days a week in the gym for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 mins (as I have to do revision for exams)
In these sessions I would do a 5km-6km run, 100-200 crunches, 20 reps of foot toe crunches.
Also as I have researched apparently tensing ur abs during exercise increases cardio burn and helps tone ur abs slightly so I am pretty much 24/7 tensing my abs slightly (more core is excellent as a result of rowing).

Then in the evenings I would do some crunches also - steadily increasing the number over the next few weeks. I would also give up white bread with cream cheese (the only bad thing I eat) and I estimate return my diet to a deficit of energy input vs output.

My question is what else do you think needs to be done and if I were to stick to this current plan how long it would take me to get a 6 pack


EDIT: The main reason I am doing it is because I think I can do it - I want to at least try it/have one once in my life and exercise is always good for you

If your diet really is at a deficit then the six-pack will happen naturally. How fast it happens depends on how much deficit you're running! Six-packs are all about cutting fat, everybody naturally has a six-pack, it's just that most people have a layer of fat covering it. Ab workouts are only marginally helpful at making sixpacks, it's all about your cardio.

Once the abs start to peek through the fat, that's when the ab exercises are worthwhile, because then you can enhance definition with slightly more developed abs. But again, it's pointless if the fat is too thick for you to see any changes underneath it. Roman chair leg lifts are good, if your gym doesn't have it, you can just hang off a chin-up bar and do leg lefts there. I don't recommend flat situps or crunches because of the ground getting in the way of your motion, and jerking you to an abrupt stop. Bicycle kicks will target that area more efficiently by recycling momentum to produce a steadier exertion.

 

[mikecoulter]

Get a car battery and connect your stomach to it via crocodile clips, far better than the electro-abs they sell in the shops.

Spoiler: But of course...

Dont really do this.

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[Marowit]

here you go

<img width=300>http://timesonline.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/16/six_pack.jpg

I lol'd

Back to the OP -

I remember I wanted one real bad, and tried really hard to get one to no avail.

I am not as 'strong' as I use to be either (I use to play hockey full time after I graduated from high school and have since then lost about 10lbs of muscle 0.o), but I am in what I would consider better shape. I feel a lot better at least. I eat more veggies, smaller portions (I generally stop before I'm full), and eat less meat (for an idea of my diet). I drink alcohol regularly, and exercise 3-4 times a week (generally at a rock climbing gym). I walk/bike to work and always use the stairs (I think this is the biggest difference - I drive a lot less than I use to).

That all being said, I don't know if that I'm just older now (25 instead of 22), but I am much leaner looking and my muscle definition is a lot better (ie I have a six pack and never had one even at the peak of my hockey playing).

My advice?

Don't fetishize the gym. When I can't make it to the rock climbing gym I just do pullups (not chin ups), pushups, and ab exercises at home, and take the dog for a run. I personally think the *gym* is not the key for getting back into shape to be quite honest; rather just eat better, don't drink soda, do a lot of body weight exercises (work those control muscles), and don't stress about a certain body part. At least, this is what I found worked for me.

 

[Marowit]

you gotta eat healthy and you can't drink beer if you want one of thems...that's no fun.

that's not true - I drink quite a bit of beer and I can see my abs pretty clearly.

The eating healthy bit is true though. Though, I've found I feel a lot better when I eat more veggies and less meat (I typically have meat once a week, and red meat even fewer times than that...locally raised grass fed beef is so expensive but oh so delicious).

 

[Doitpow]

here you go

<img width=300>http://timesonline.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/16/six_pack.jpg

You...glorious...ninja.

OT: Crunches...lots and lots of crunches.

As Tim Minchin says...only a ninja can sneak up on another ninja

 

[esperandote]

Instead of doing so many reps do less reps holding a wieght disc on your chest with your arms crossed three times a week. 4 set of 12-20 reps maybe. be careful to not hurt your lower back.

To get rid of the fat dont do a lot of cardio, excerise big muscles groups with heavy weights, bigger muscles burn more calories and this will make the bigger wich result in even more calories burned. Google articles about reasons why cardio is counter productive.

 

[Magnesium360]

Running, crunches that kind of thing is good. Some people go on diets, but i've never gone on one. I had a chicken burger for dinner last night and french toast and bacon for breakfast, but I have a six pack. When I was younger I spent a year or two where I had weekly classes at NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts) where I learnt some cool tricks, and I currently do Parkour. The latter definately keeps me fit, and it's fun so if you're already into running, you should check it out.

PS: Yeah, a lot of girls like six packs, but bringing it up all the time, going on about it and such just makes you sound like a tool. Also, you don't want it to be your sole redeeming feature.