I'm currently cutting right now and have gone from about 20% body fat down to 18% in 7 weeks. Most of my fat is in my gut/stomach, I weigh 163 and have a 33 inch waist (slight beer belly). I've read on here that it's basically pointless to do any ab workout until bodyfat % is low, otherwise I'd be wasting my time due to the fact that my ab muscles would still be hidden underneath all the fat. Is this true? At what point (body fat %) should I start to workout abs?

Thanks!

How tall are you? 163 isn't a lot of weight for a guy and cutting might not be the best idea right now if you're still at 18% BF.

i think you are referring to the statement, "you don't get abs by doing 1000 crunches a day. you won't be able to see your abs until you use proper nutrition and training to reduce your BF% levels (10 around 10% for most males i believe) no matter how much ab work you do."

it's obviously paraphrased but it doesn't mean you can't do ab work until you have a low enough BF% to see them. you just won't be able to see how your abs are progressing muscularly until your BF is low enough.

Working on abdominal strength is NOT related to your BF%. Just because you can't see a six-pack at your current weight and BF% doesn't mean you should be ignoring your core. I think that most people here do abdominal work as part of their overall physical conditioning (I do it every workout).

Do it as soon as you can....I heard the same thing and NEVER worked on my abs until now (that i am in a decent body fat percentage) my stomach is flat (I've seen flatter) but by no means do i have a belly....consequently i have seen people with much higher body fat percentages sporting full six packs....now that i've tried to work those abs i am getting fairly close to a four pack but i wish i would have started much earlier......the way it looks now....I am around your same weight and I wont cut for much longer than a month (or month and half before i start bulking up) so i wont see my abs in this cutting session mostly cause i never bothered to work them out before.

and please do say how tall you are.

I'm 5'8", thanks for all the replies guys, I guess I'll get started today on abs. Any suggestions as to what exercises are best? How many times per week? How many sets, reps,etc?

Thanks!!

Abs are just like any other muscle - DO NOT OVERTRAIN THEM. As for what exercises and such, try http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/WaistWt.html

Good luck.

So is this to say that even while bulking we should still be focusing on abs? If so, then how so (to what extent)? Train until failure, or just the normal high reps? I understand you can BUILD the actual SIZE of the ab muscles while bulking, which would thus allow your ab muscles to show through more prominently even at higher Body Fat %'s (though this goes for any other muscle as well).

Also if somebody could please explain to me how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach, I would really appreciate it :cool:... I have never understood this.

So is this to say that even while bulking we should still be focusing on abs? If so, then how so (to what extent)? Train until failure, or just the normal high reps? I understand you can BUILD the actual SIZE of the ab muscles while bulking, which would thus allow your ab muscles to show through more prominently even at higher Body Fat %'s (though this goes for any other muscle as well).

Also if somebody could please explain to me how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach, I would really appreciate it :cool:... I have never understood this.

Doing compound exercises on a reglar basis will force your body to develop a strong muscley core. It has no choice as these muscles are needed to support you when using your whole body in an exercise. I had a decent six pack coming thru long before I even did one single ab exercise. That is why I can say this to you. I do abs 2 to 3 times a week now so they can thicken up more and look better. To get more definition dial your diet in and if you cannot do it yourself get someone to help that will give you your definition, not just on your stomach region but everywhere. The reason you do ab workouts is to increase their size so at a lower level of body fat so they stand out more.
If you really want to work them out then there are plenty of programs and tips on this site from fellas who look great do a six pack search. :tucool:

Oh and btw burning fat off your stomach by doing situps is called spot reduction. It will not burn the fat off just burn more calories which in turn increases your daily caloric expenditure. Spot reduction has no real evidence behind it. Unless something new has come out.

Good luck.

The reason you do ab workouts is to increase their size so at a lower level of body fat so they stand out more. ...
Yes, I understand the whole "building them up so that at a lower level of body fat they stand out more" ---

I understand you can BUILD the actual SIZE of the ab muscles while bulking, which would thus allow your ab muscles to show through more prominently ....
but what I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?

Sorry if maybe the way I paired up my questions with other questions previously indicated I was asking something else but this is what I was asking:
"I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?".

Thanks for your time in replying to that though Phoenix, appreciate that man! If somebody could help me out with that question though I would really appreciate it! :nod: :tucool:!

but what I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?


I am not sure what you want to understand. If one is bulking one may do abs that may not be seen until one is below a certain percent level....when one is cutting you reveal those abs...you continue doing abs work because it is possible that the muscle may growth or that they become more toned even when you are cutting...now you may tell me that because one is in a caloric deficit your abs are going to stay the same but I assure you that this is not the case for some individuals at least when it comes to abs muscle......for example my body fat % has remained the same for the last month I have only lost 3 pounds but my abs are much much more pronounced......if I would have worked them out while I was bulking i am pretty sure they would have been there already......

but what I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?

I think you're taking "bulking" and "cutting" too literally, because muscle growth/definition doesn't stop entirely while on a caloric deficit. You may lose some mass while cutting, but on a well-structured cut, you should be focusing on minimizing muscle loss (and some people actually gain a bit of muscle while on a cut), but not ignoring strength/muscle-building exercises entirely. Otherwise, what would be the point of lifting at all during cutting cycles?

Core work isn't generally about building huge abs anyway, considering that the "barrel chested" look isn't what most people are looking to achieve.

I've read on here that it's basically pointless to do any ab workout until bodyfat % is low, otherwise I'd be wasting my time due to the fact that my ab muscles would still be hidden underneath all the fat. Is this true? At what point (body fat %) should I start to workout abs?


You can read anything where a diverse group of people post. People differ in opinion. My answer is that everyone should perform Ab exercises at any point in training. I think a set of crunches followed by a set of reverse crunches can be done by anyone each night before bed. Do them slowly to failure. It is for muscle strength and growth. It isn't for spot reduction, it is for building or maintaining muscle.

I am relatively old compared to average poster, Let me tell you something. All this compound exercise talk is a new fad, if you believe some of the things said they will have you believing Squats and Deadlifts will make anything grow like magic. You want good abs, work them directly. The more fat you reduce, the more the muscles show.

Sure do compounds but do isolation exercises also. :tucool:

but what I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?


[when cutting] you continue doing abs work because it is possible that the muscle may growth or that they become more toned even when you are cutting...now you may tell me that because one is in a caloric deficit your abs are going to stay the same but I assure you that this is not the case for some individuals at least when it comes to abs muscle......
This is exactly what I don't understand. HOW is it that by continuing to do abdominal work, your abs become more toned? Any information on the science of it I guess is what I'm looking for, as that would then help me understand the method/process. I've searched tons of times on google for this and I can never find the answer, all that ever seems to come up is a bunch of "how to's", "ab products", and pages saying something along the lines of "do ab work to tone up your abs" (which, frustratingly, is what I was originally trying to find the reason for, and which by inputting the question in the search engine, inevitably just took me back to..... the same question I sought out to answer :bang:). If anybody knows this information and would care to indulge the readers of this thread, I would much appreciate it :).

My answer is that I
I am relatively old compared to average poster, Let me tell you something. All this compound exercise talk is a new fad, if you believe some of the things said they will have you believing Squats and Deadlifts will make anything grow like magic.
Sure do compounds but do isolation exercises also. :tucool:

I thought that compounds were an old fad ! As I can count the number of people on my hands that do compound exercises in my gym out of a few thousand members.

Yes, I understand the whole "building them up so that at a lower level of body fat they stand out more" ---

but what I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?

Sorry if maybe the way I paired up my questions with other questions previously indicated I was asking something else but this is what I was asking:
"I don't understand is how doing ab work while cutting adds definition/tone/etc. to your stomach?".

Thanks for your time in replying to that though Phoenix, appreciate that man! If somebody could help me out with that question though I would really appreciate it! :nod: :tucool:!

I can not extrapolate any more that what I have said. Others have said the same basically too.