Hi, first time poster here,

I have been working on my abs for about 4 months now. I am 18 years old, 165, about 6ft. I have an athletic build, and have played sports all my life. I am one of those skinny guys, but not terribly so, as I am starting to bulk up a little bit.

Now the problem. I want more definition in my midsection. I know, people say diet, people say low body fat, etc. My dad is actually a dietition and has raised me eating properly. A typical day consists of a couple fat free yogurt cups, grilled chicken sandwhich, bannana, some peanuts, and turkey on whole wheat. Thats it, and I space my meals.


But honestly I dont believe this to be the problem. My ab region is defined around the edges. Imagine a triangle. My abs are like an elevated triangle in my stomach. You can see the edges, but its flat in the middle. I only work my abs about 2-3 times a week, maybe 30 crunches per day.

I think I have an ideal body fat %, and I am thin enough to where my abs should show. I believe my problem lies with the fact that I am not working my abs hard enough. Should I kick it up a notch? I have read on these forums about people working the abs everyday. Is that what I need to do to really carve the inside of my abs?

(I should mention that I know rest is vital when WEIGHT training, however ab crunches use nothing more than body weight and therefore should be worked more to see that definition on the interior?)

Hi, first time poster here,

I have been working on my abs for about 4 months now. I am 18 years old, 165, about 6ft. I have an athletic build, and have played sports all my life. I am one of those skinny guys, but not terribly so, as I am starting to bulk up a little bit.

Now the problem. I want more definition in my midsection. I know, people say diet, people say low body fat, etc. My dad is actually a dietition and has raised me eating properly. A typical day consists of a couple fat free yogurt cups, grilled chicken sandwhich, bannana, some peanuts, and turkey on whole wheat. Thats it, and I space my meals.


But honestly I dont believe this to be the problem. My ab region is defined around the edges. Imagine a triangle. My abs are like an elevated triangle in my stomach. You can see the edges, but its flat in the middle. I only work my abs about 2-3 times a week, maybe 30 crunches per day.

I think I have an ideal body fat %, and I am thin enough to where my abs should show. I believe my problem lies with the fact that I am not working my abs hard enough. Should I kick it up a notch? I have read on these forums about people working the abs everyday. Is that what I need to do to really carve the inside of my abs?

(I should mention that I know rest is vital when WEIGHT training, however ab crunches use nothing more than body weight and therefore should be worked more to see that definition on the interior?)



First of all, you need to eat more.:nod:Secondly, regardless of what you think, it sounds like you're carrying too much BF.

Sorry I don't have a lot of time to write. Heading to the gym! :jumping: I think that your abs have adapted to the crunches. Adding weight to your routine can add back the resistance your midsection needs to get stronger. Try including weighted crunches and perhaps trunk twists while holding a weight plate chest high. Help me out fellas, for I know there is much more to add to this! Remember, your abs are muscles too! You wouldn't bench press just the bar would you?

You're dad's a dietitian and at your age and size that's all he has you eating?! :confused:

First of all, you should be eating more. Secondly, do you lift weights? Third, are you sure your body fat is low enough to see abs?

Being thin in no way guarantees that you have a low enough BF% -- there are plenty of members on this site that started as thin as you yet had a non-muscle-defining BF% (12% and greater). If you'd like us to give you the best help, post a clear picture of your upper-body shirtless in clear lighting; this way we will be able to estimate your BF%, see your muscle development, and judge whether genetics have anything to do with it. If you're worried about your privacy, crop your face out. We can definitely try to help you achieve your goal without this but that will make it much easier.

Being thin in no way guarantees that you have a low enough BF% -- there are plenty of members on this site that started as thin as you yet had a non-muscle-defining BF% (12% and greater). If you'd like us to give you the best help, post a clear picture of your upper-body shirtless in clear lighting; this way we will be able to estimate your BF%, see your muscle development, and judge whether genetics have anything to do with it. If you're worried about your privacy, crop your face out. We can definitely try to help you achieve your goal without this but that will make it much easier.

Unfortunately I dont have a cam with me. Thats why I am scared though, genetics. I am afarid that genetics will impede me from acquiring that ripped def in my abs.

But yeah, I do usually eat more than that, I was just listing some of the things I have. Basically no fast food, cake, cookies, etc or anything like that. Its not my diet I am worried about.

How about this- What do you guys think about working the abs everyday, give or take a day off a week? I mean, I am just afraid I am not doing enough to stimulate the muscles into growth....

To answer your question, IMHO, yes, you could get away with working your abs more often. Will working your abs more often, in the absence of certain other (vastly more important) conditions such as a carefully executed nutrition and resistance training regimen, necessarily solve the problem? I doubt it.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, not doing enough crunches is usually the last reason peoples' abs aren't showing. If you let us in on the whole program, in as much detail as possible, you've got a much better chance of somebody pinpointing what it is you need to change in order to get those abs to show.

I agree that more crunches is probably not the best answer to your problem. Three times a week should be more than enough.

Do you work on your other body parts at all? A careful diet and well executed strength training routine will result in muscle gain, which could put you at a more favorable body fat percentage. Do you know your body fat percentage?

Do you eat any vegetables? How much protein are you consuming?

I agree that more crunches is probably not the best answer to your problem. Three times a week should be more than enough.

Do you work on your other body parts at all? A careful diet and well executed strength training routine will result in muscle gain, which could put you at a more favorable body fat percentage. Do you know your body fat percentage?

Do you eat any vegetables? How much protein are you consuming?

I am living in a college dorm, so you can realize the difficulty of maintaining a good diet and exercise.

I do push ups for upper body. Alot. About 200 a day, I can 60 reps in a row. I do standing dubmbell lifts for my biceps, and the push ups/dips for triceps.

And the thing is, I am seeing results from this, which is good.


As far as my diet, hmmm. Breakfast may consist of skim milk, bannana, and two yogurt cups. Then for lunch, a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce tomato on wheat with baked lays. Then a bannana a couple hours before dinner, which may be a turkey sandwhich on wheat with llettuce/tamato. I go home on weekends and load up on porkchops, spinach salads, and other quality meats/veggies I cant get at school.

Whenever I work my abs, I do about 2 sets of 15-20 crunches, I try a few reverse crunches, and I do the plank board thing for 90 seconds. I have been doing this 2-3 times a week. If you were to run your hand across my mid section, going from right to left ---> a bump (outer ridge), then a dip, then another ridge/edge. Like I said, the whole set shows, now I want to carve each individual muscle and really let it show. Does this sound like a body fat problem? I will try to find out my body fat. What is the most accurate method? Calipers?


BTW, how accurate is this = "
% Bodyfat = (-98.42 + (Waist x 4.15) - (0.082 x Weight) / Weight) x 100" to calculate body fat %? According to this, I have 10.1 % BF....

Hmmm... I don't know. It sounds like you're pretty close, but there's room for improvements. I'll leave the remaining advice to the experts.:)

:gl:

BTW, how accurate is this = "
% Bodyfat = (-98.42 + (Waist x 4.15) - (0.082 x Weight) / Weight) x 100" to calculate body fat %? According to this, I have 10.1 % BF....


Sounds like that could be close. At 10% BF (or thereabouts ususally) abs begin to show. I'd say you need to drop another couple of % pts. to get that deep, chisled look.

Is weight training with the abs really the way to deeply carve out each indivudual muscle? Whats the norm size weight to use? And how would you do this? Hold the weight right in front of you, slightly above the pecs and perform a crunch?

doordude, if that is you in your avatar, you seem to be pretty well ripped.

What ab exercises do you do to chisel out the interior abs? Weighted crunches?

I dunno, I could be way off but it seriously doesn't look like you are eating near enough as you should. Perhaps you could down a shake between classes and/or after a workout. I do understand the workload of a college student. Do you include any cardio? Running regularly helps sculpt the midsection while reducing body fat.

Is weight training with the abs really the way to deeply carve out each indivudual muscle? Whats the norm size weight to use? And how would you do this? Hold the weight right in front of you, slightly above the pecs and perform a crunch?

I had a pretty "carved out" 6-pack from doing daily crunches and variations of crunches for several years before I ever touched a weight during an ab exercise.

doordude, if that is you in your avatar, you seem to be pretty well ripped.

Yes, that is he. :nod:

P.S. Eat more man, you are hardly eating enough for a 12 year old girl.

Also, you might want to cut down on the baked lays. Especially at such a low level of intake.