Physical & Mental health

[Korea 734]

Abs are easy, just don't eat like a pig....

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Abs are easy, just don't eat like a pig....

In a sense you're right, everyone has abs, just that it's hidden under fat. Though, the aim for doing abs is to strengthen your core and have a proper posture, sculpting them is a bonus!

[Rmpr 8,977]

ABS is Portuguese means Anti-lock Breaking System!

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ABS is portuguese means Anti-lock Breaking System!

No skid marks for you then...

Abs, they can be hard to work. when we lift weights, we do 3 sets of 8-10. because we know that stimulates all the right pathways and doesnt stimulate ones that provoke endurance adaptations. you smash out 100 ab crunches, thats endurance. the same rules apply to your abs. if you are going for hypertrophy of the abs, dont do 100 of them. if you just want to imrpove and stabalise your core, then yeah, doing more may be a benefit.

My ab work out normally consists of about 4 sets of 10-15. movements. i try and do negatives on them, which is very hard. i warm up by do a full sit up, a crunch, a full shit up a crunch twist and so on. just a warm up. my first set: i hold a medicine ball (i think its about 3kg) just above my head, then i do 10 full sit ups (important not to use the ball as a force to lift you! you have to let it dangle below to create a resistance!).

my second set, is a series of crunches, which i guess could be seperated to 3 mini sets: 8-12 reps normal crunch. 8-12 reps twists to the right and then 8-12 reps with twists to the left. i use the medince ball like i did in the first set, apart from, when im twisting, i hold the ball to the opposite side of my head (so if im twisting to the right, i hold the medicine ball over my left shoulder).

my 3rd set is bounches. so i lay down, stretch my arms out as far as i can (so im like a big plank) and hold hte medine ball, i do a full sit up. then on the way down i stop at a point, then lower my self lower and stop, then lower myself once more so im just above the ground, stop, then go all theway down. each time i 'stop' i go back up a bit, so its like im bouncing. its very hard but very good. literally ripping your abs apart. beautiful.

my 4th set: i hang from a bar, and basically do really powerful tucks. so if you were to see me from the side, id be dangling in the air like this: / (legs at the bottom, head at the top). i pull my self up so my head is level with the bar, and then lift my knees to my chest (really focusing on my abs. its easy to do this just by using your legs), and i crunch it. i bring it in as fast as i can, then lower it out as controlled as i can. do 8-12 of these.

thats my usual ab work out. its sore to raise my self out of bed after that.

i also mix it around, so throw in some other ab work outs, just swap them in and out as i want. but that above is the one that ruins me the most. May not sound that clear but you get the idea! my main advice for those who are bit advanced and want to really get some bulding abs, is to try and do negatives/eccentric stuff. it can be hard. anotehr good way is to lay down, raise so you are at like 45 degree angle. then with a medcine ball in your hand, throw it behind your head, and resist it as it tries to pull you down. that is another ruiner!

The reason it works so well (any eccentric exercise) is because, without getting all sciencey, you have 2 protein structures (actin and myosin), during a contraction, these two proteins bind, and pull together, like rowing, and these only work one way, so when you are trying to lift something (say a bicep curl) but its going the opposite way, you are making these proteins bond, and then quite literally ripping them apart, they will try as hard as possible to make the dumbell go towards your shoulder, but if you are trying to lift something that is going away from your shoulder, tear tear tear! and that is why you feel sore as shit the next few days!

[Vincent 403]

It´s something genetic, not everyone can build visible abs.

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It´s something genetic, not everyone can build visible abs.

everyone CAN build visible abs.

Its genetic in terms that some people may be able to build muscle faster than others, or to not gain fat like others. but its not down to genetics wether you will be able to have visible abs or not.... everyone is capable, some people may just have to work harder than others to achieve it.

[Vincent 403]

everyone CAN build visible abs.

That is not true.

[dumps 284]

That is not true.

I'd be interested to hear your justification.

from my knowledge everybody has the abdominal muscles. there is a nice layer of fat infront of them. if you can reduce the fat to muscle ratio, your abs will reveal themselves...

some people have a hard time losing the fat. some people have a hard time building the muscle. but with work everyone can achieve it. some just have to work a lot harder than others.

[Vincent 403]

I'd be interested to hear your justification.

from my knowledge everybody has the abdominal muscles. there is a nice layer of fat infront of them. if you can reduce the fat to muscle ratio, your abs will reveal themselves...

some people have a hard time losing the fat. some people have a hard time building the muscle. but with work everyone can achieve it. some just have to work a lot harder than others.

Ofcourse everyone has the abdominal muscles, that doesn't mean they're visible. And it's also true that there are many people who claim that they train so hard but they don't grow in muscle, most of them just don't train hard enough. But trust me on this if i say that its also a genetic thing, everyone can build abs but not everyone can show them off. There are bodybuilder with huge muscles, 3-6% fat but no visible ab muscles.

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Ofcourse everyone has the abdominal muscles, that doesn't mean they're visible. And it's also true that there are many people who claim that they train so hard but they don't grow in muscle, most of them just don't train hard enough. But trust me on this if i say that its also a genetic thing, everyone can build abs but not everyone can show them off. There are bodybuilder with huge muscles, 3-6% fat but no visible ab muscles.

Im not trying to be a dick, but i still don't buy it. theres no gene in your body that is either "show abs" or "dont show abs" that gene just doesnt exsist.

With the body builder thing, i think there have been a good handful of body builders who are massive, low body fat and have 'no abs', but these werent 'genetic disorders' these were just poor routines that lead to it. they'd have a really flat stomach (with some slight definition of abs) but there would be no massive bulges. simply because they didnt give as much care to their abs workout, some even say they didnt even bother doing abdominal workouts. another thing worth a mention is the type of muscle development. you see guys walking around who a toned to hell, have like a large tennis ball bump for a bicep, whereas some guys just have a chunky bicep like a loaf of bread, THATS down to genes a fair bit as well as the type of trainging (and the crazy drugs some of the bigger guys take), and you can get abdominals like that, makes it look like a ginat 1 pac. but they are still abs.

you've probably seen pictures that ive seen but just jumped to a conclusion too fast. ill try find the guy I can remember....

EDIT: This wasnt the guy i was talking about but its similar to him:

with this guy its hard to say. if you are defining abs as a clear bulging 6/8 pack, then he lacks it. but if you define abs as just the muscle of the torso, then yeah, you can see it (he has that famous V that is all the rage at the moment in this thread!) you can also see some of his obliques and serratus anterior. i dont even know who this guy is or anything on him, but i wouldnt be suprised if his workouts consisted mainly of back and arms.... his pecs and shoulders seem to be a bit behind the development you can see in his arms and lats... maybe thats what he was aiming for, just a flat stomach, i dont know.

all the related pictures are disgusting! i honeslty do not see the appeal of being that big.... some body builders have hte tiniest waists and just so much muscle on them. crazy. I typed in "body builders with no abs" in to google, there are a few pictures of these massive guys with odd looking abs. they all have visible abs but they all look very different - and thats down to genes! (mostly).

I have read nothing to back that up, that is literally me looking at pictures of half naked massive men and taking an educated guess at why. i still dont think a gene exsists to prevent you from developing your abdominals, I agree that genes influence how they may look (massively), but everyone can get some...

If you found an article or some kind of research to prove it i would love to see it because i am not aware of it.

EDIT 2: there are some fucking gross pictures of body builders out there! i really do not see the appeal. and im sure some of those are photoshopped. I did see a good one of a guy who is pretty muscular, but has hte biggest belly ever. thats another thing, some people may have 3-6% body fat, but all their fat can be around their abs.... people tend to either distribute their fat evenly over hte body, distribute it around their organs, distribute it around their waists, or smash it on the thighs. thats all down to genes. i have a fair bit of fat on my torso, i can grab a decent handful, yet i cant even pinch it on my legs and theres not much on my upper body.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Everybody can build visible abs....

[Vincent 403]

Im not trying to be a dick, but i still don't buy it. theres no gene in your body that is either "show abs" or "dont show abs" that gene just doesnt exsist.

With the body builder thing, i think there have been a good handful of body builders who are massive, low body fat and have 'no abs', but these werent 'genetic disorders' these were just poor routines that lead to it. they'd have a really flat stomach (with some slight definition of abs) but there would be no massive bulges. simply because they didnt give as much care to their abs workout, some even say they didnt even bother doing abdominal workouts. another thing worth a mention is the type of muscle development. you see guys walking around who a toned to hell, have like a large tennis ball bump for a bicep, whereas some guys just have a chunky bicep like a loaf of bread, THATS down to genes a fair bit as well as the type of trainging (and the crazy drugs some of the bigger guys take), and you can get abdominals like that, makes it look like a ginat 1 pac. but they are still abs.

you've probably seen pictures that ive seen but just jumped to a conclusion too fast. ill try find the guy I can remember....

EDIT: This wasnt the guy i was talking about but its similar to him:

with this guy its hard to say. if you are defining abs as a clear bulging 6/8 pack, then he lacks it. but if you define abs as just the muscle of the torso, then yeah, you can see it (he has that famous V that is all the rage at the moment in this thread!) you can also see some of his obliques and serratus anterior. i dont even know who this guy is or anything on him, but i wouldnt be suprised if his workouts consisted mainly of back and arms.... his pecs and shoulders seem to be a bit behind the development you can see in his arms and lats... maybe thats what he was aiming for, just a flat stomach, i dont know.

all the related pictures are disgusting! i honeslty do not see the appeal of being that big.... some body builders have hte tiniest waists and just so much muscle on them. crazy. I typed in "body builders with no abs" in to google, there are a few pictures of these massive guys with odd looking abs. they all have visible abs but they all look very different - and thats down to genes! (mostly).

I have read nothing to back that up, that is literally me looking at pictures of half naked massive men and taking an educated guess at why. i still dont think a gene exsists to prevent you from developing your abdominals, I agree that genes influence how they may look (massively), but everyone can get some...

If you found an article or some kind of research to prove it i would love to see it because i am not aware of it.

EDIT 2: there are some fucking gross pictures of body builders out there! i really do not see the appeal. and im sure some of those are photoshopped. I did see a good one of a guy who is pretty muscular, but has hte biggest belly ever. thats another thing, some people may have 3-6% body fat, but all their fat can be around their abs.... people tend to either distribute their fat evenly over hte body, distribute it around their organs, distribute it around their waists, or smash it on the thighs. thats all down to genes. i have a fair bit of fat on my torso, i can grab a decent handful, yet i cant even pinch it on my legs and theres not much on my upper body.

This are abs, the things you are pointing have other designation. It's not just because they dont train abs specifique that they aint working their abs. If you deadlift you are also working your abs. Bodybuilder that train for a year, diet for a year, hardcore. They surely gave these ab workouts a go. If you train so hard day in day out, with diet. And cutting down to 3-6% with working out 5 days a week then there surely would be some abs visible for everyone right?

I searched for the same as you did: I don't think this guy had bad resources or didnt train hard enough or had a bad diet, do you?

[Rmpr 8,977]

I searched for the same as you did: I don't think this guy had bad resources or didnt train hard enough or had a bad diet, do you?

He is doing the wrong movement. Ask the same dude to put his arms down and force his abdomen...

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@Vincent:

Mate, that guy has massive abs. they are huge. they just arent defined. thats exactly what i was talking about when i was going on about tennis balls and loafs of bread - that guy just has a massive 1 pac!

and saying even if you dont work abs but you train all the time and your abs are used to stabalise you, fair point, they do, but they dont get massive that way. thats like saying theres no need to work your triceps if you are benching all day.... yes your triceps are used when you bench, but they arent used at full capacity. same with abs.

Also, i think Rmpr is right, if he were to try to show of his abs, i think we'd see some definition there. that guy has some big abs though, defined or not.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Im not trying to be a dick, but i still don't buy it. theres no gene in your body that is either "show abs" or "dont show abs" that gene just doesnt exsist.

With the body builder thing, i think there have been a good handful of body builders who are massive, low body fat and have 'no abs', but these werent 'genetic disorders' these were just poor routines that lead to it. they'd have a really flat stomach (with some slight definition of abs) but there would be no massive bulges. simply because they didnt give as much care to their abs workout, some even say they didnt even bother doing abdominal workouts. another thing worth a mention is the type of muscle development. you see guys walking around who a toned to hell, have like a large tennis ball bump for a bicep, whereas some guys just have a chunky bicep like a loaf of bread, THATS down to genes a fair bit as well as the type of trainging (and the crazy drugs some of the bigger guys take), and you can get abdominals like that, makes it look like a ginat 1 pac. but they are still abs.

you've probably seen pictures that ive seen but just jumped to a conclusion too fast. ill try find the guy I can remember....

EDIT: This wasnt the guy i was talking about but its similar to him:

with this guy its hard to say. if you are defining abs as a clear bulging 6/8 pack, then he lacks it. but if you define abs as just the muscle of the torso, then yeah, you can see it (he has that famous V that is all the rage at the moment in this thread!) you can also see some of his obliques and serratus anterior. i dont even know who this guy is or anything on him, but i wouldnt be suprised if his workouts consisted mainly of back and arms.... his pecs and shoulders seem to be a bit behind the development you can see in his arms and lats... maybe thats what he was aiming for, just a flat stomach, i dont know.

all the related pictures are disgusting! i honeslty do not see the appeal of being that big.... some body builders have hte tiniest waists and just so much muscle on them. crazy. I typed in "body builders with no abs" in to google, there are a few pictures of these massive guys with odd looking abs. they all have visible abs but they all look very different - and thats down to genes! (mostly).

I have read nothing to back that up, that is literally me looking at pictures of half naked massive men and taking an educated guess at why. i still dont think a gene exsists to prevent you from developing your abdominals, I agree that genes influence how they may look (massively), but everyone can get some...

If you found an article or some kind of research to prove it i would love to see it because i am not aware of it.

EDIT 2: there are some fucking gross pictures of body builders out there! i really do not see the appeal. and im sure some of those are photoshopped. I did see a good one of a guy who is pretty muscular, but has hte biggest belly ever. thats another thing, some people may have 3-6% body fat, but all their fat can be around their abs.... people tend to either distribute their fat evenly over hte body, distribute it around their organs, distribute it around their waists, or smash it on the thighs. thats all down to genes. i have a fair bit of fat on my torso, i can grab a decent handful, yet i cant even pinch it on my legs and theres not much on my upper body.

It's called side-effect of steroids. The truth is, if you want abs, you can get them if you work hard enough with diet etc - comes down to bodytype and preferences. But i definitely know where Vincent is coming from, genes do influence the way you develop, be it mentally, physically.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Big belly is caused by steroid abuse, just a side-effect

I think what Vincent was trying to say is that some people have harder time developing the fat-muscle ratio needed for abs to show. For example my legs and abs are stronger and I've never had to work that much on them, they've always been toned, muscular but I work very hard to chest, shoulders and arms to even it up, so it'd look in porportion. We're all genetically different, that's the way it is. As far as anwsering if everyone can get toned abs - yes, ofcourse. All it takes is more work, more nutritional awareness and dedication (not 2-3 month dedication but years and years of work)

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thats what I said...

On the topic of body building. what would everybody say they aim to look like when they hit the gym?

I personally prefer to worry about performance. I like to look toned, but it doesnt bother me if my muscles are smaller than someone elses. I don't even play sport properly. I play every sunday in a casual 5 a side and i also play in a small competitative 6 a side league on a thursday night. I got to hte gym mainly to improve my general health, im not particularly muscular, but im toned. i do a lot of cardio, specifically high intensity training.

I only weigh in at about 63kg at the moment (im about 5ft 7) and ive quite a slender frame (...one of those guys with the slim nobbly wrists...) and like i said, i am fairly toned all over but im thinking of spending 5 or so weeks on some strength training to get me up to about 68kgs. But i think ill start that in 2 weeks time (im currently participating in research that involves aerobic stuff, so dont want to do too much strength stuff at the moment).

so back to my question: how big does everyone want to be? I know there are some guys in here trying to lose some fat, some guys trying to build strength, some guys trying to improve performance but in your eyes, what is the perfect shape to you?

[SinineUltra 1,170]

Aiming for along these lines, will take me a year or two. Thing is, training is part of lifestyle so I intend to do this aslong as I can without putting more important aspects of life aside so in a sense I hope the results come gradually but slow so I get to push myself further without becoming a monster. Because already now I'm getting a lot of attention for my physique if I wear a t-shirt. I generally don't like being center of attention but this is a positive one and boosts confidence a lot. Though you have to channel that right so you don't get cocky etc because in the end of the day being humble and a friendly person will get you further than having a body of a god.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77227873@N03/7164159638/lightbox/

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yeah thats what ive done. i first joing the gym when iwas 17 or 18. and for about 6 months i did try hard. then itj ust became part of my life, and i have seen gradual increases. and every now and then i go for targets. like my last target of the last 3 months was cardio and thats pretty good now - in a couple of weeks time im going to aim to gain a few kilos in muscle.

I have a bit of a challenge coming up in the near future, im going to be moving to a new city. this means i need to find a new gym. I will no longer have my usual crowd of friends that i play football with twice a week, and i will be coming out of university and going in to work i hope so im going to have a new scedule. I hope to be able to settle in really quick and get in to an exercise routine, else im gonna become a chubby little funster. I plan to join a gym, find out if they have any amateur leagues in things like squash/badminton/tennis i can join, quickly make some friends and organise some weekly football!

Im off to the gym now for a quick leg workout. PUMPED!

[SinineUltra 1,170]

yeah thats what ive done. i first joing the gym when iwas 17 or 18. and for about 6 months i did try hard. then itj ust became part of my life, and i have seen gradual increases. and every now and then i go for targets. like my last target of the last 3 months was cardio and thats pretty good now - in a couple of weeks time im going to aim to gain a few kilos in muscle.

I have a bit of a challenge coming up in the near future, im going to be moving to a new city. this means i need to find a new gym. I will no longer have my usual crowd of friends that i play football with twice a week, and i will be coming out of university and going in to work i hope so im going to have a new scedule. I hope to be able to settle in really quick and get in to an exercise routine, else im gonna become a chubby little funster. I plan to join a gym, find out if they have any amateur leagues in things like squash/badminton/tennis i can join, quickly make some friends and organise some weekly football!

Im off to the gym now for a quick leg workout. PUMPED!

Best of luck, don't injure yourself!