6 pack abs

[8pack]

How fast will it take me to get 6 pack abs? Can I work them out everyday or should I only do it so many days a week? I have seen people say only 2 days for training but does this include my abs?

[LtL]

You probably already have the ab's, you just need to burn off the fat that covers them. This is more a function of diet than training. What do you weigh right now and what is your training history?

LtL

[Soldier]

Ok, you need to know something before we can really answer that. Having a visible 6 pack is all about body fat. You can have the biggest muscles in the world, but no one will see them if you have too much body fat. The general rule of thumb is that you need to be at or below 10% bodyfat before you can see your abs. This is different for different people, because people carry body fat differently. Someone who carries less fat in their abs could carry more bodyfat while still having visible abs, but someone who carries more fat in their abs may have to be will into single digit bodyfat numbers before they will have well defined abs.

Do you know what your bodyfat % is? If you don't, then feel free to post a pic of yourself shirtless and we'll be able to give you a good estimate, which will let you have an idea of how much fat you'll have to lose before you'll have visible abs.

As for actually working your abs, honestly, it's not as important as people make it. The muscular makeup of the abs and calves makes it very hard to make them grow at all, but that same muscular makeup allows you to work them with a much higher volume and frequency if you want to. I'd say you can work your abs every other day if that's what you want, but if it's all about getting visible abs, that's not nearly as important as getting your bodyfat % down.

[bamazav]

Why the infatuation with 6 pack abs? No one has ever heard these words, " Hey great abs, can you open this jar for me?" or " Wow, what a six pack, can you help me move some furniture?" As the other's have said, the appearance of abs are more a result of diet than anything else. Focus on getting stronger, eat right and sleep right and then you may have the best of both worlds... great looking abs and strength.

[Rich Knapp]

I agree with posts here.

Yes everyone has Abs, you just need to strip the BF off them to see them.

The medea loves to push w/o's to get Abs when in reality its the losing weight from being more active that brings them out. NOT the workout.

Your Abs like stated are like the Calves and get a lot of abouse daily. So they both are used to it and recover very fast.

You want them to grow you need to beet the crap out of them.
If sets in a Ab w/o aren't knocking the wind out of you, you are only burning cals and not working the ab's. Every working set you should feel like you got punched straight in the gut by a MMA fighter or Pro Boxer.

Can't handle that? Start dieting HARD. No bull, just straight up hard facts.

As far as 6 and 8 pack? Thats all genetics. Everyone has different Tendoninous Inscriptions lay out, a similarly but different. These are what make up the cuts in the Abs making a 6 or 8 pack. Some people even have so thin T/I's they look like they have a slab. But don't make yourself look like a fool and tell people you have thin T/I's when you just have to much fat on board. This will make you look much worse than never seeing your Ab's.

[bruteforce]

Originally Posted by bamazav

Why the infatuation with 6 pack abs? No one has ever heard these words, " Hey great abs, can you open this jar for me?" or " Wow, what a six pack, can you help me move some furniture?" As the other's have said, the appearance of abs are more a result of diet than anything else. Focus on getting stronger, eat right and sleep right and then you may have the best of both worlds... great looking abs and strength.

Now I want a 6 pack so I can grip a jar with it and open it...

To quote a grumpy old man, "Whats the point of a 6 pack if you don't have the ice chest to put it in". Diet will get your body fat down low enough for them to be seen, weighted ab work will help make your abs grow enough to look impressive. I certainly wouldn't go over 3 times a week on abs, and I would be sure to do the big movements like squats and deadlifts to get your body into a state where it wants to add muscle to stay alive.

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by bamazav

No one has ever heard these words, " Hey great abs, can you open this jar for me?" or " Wow, what a six pack, can you help me move some furniture?".

We are not too far off of that if not already there. I've heard many younger people say, "Wow, look at those abs. I best he's really strong." True, sad but true.

[T-Bone]

Some good advice in here 8pack (along with some good-natured ribbing). If you really want the 6 pack then there's no reason you can't have it, you'll just have to work at it; and it might take you a while. Throw up a before pic to check your BF, then get to work, and be sure to post an after shot too. Good luck!

[Chillen]

Originally Posted by 8pack

How fast will it take me to get 6 pack abs? Can I work them out everyday or should I only do it so many days a week? I have seen people say only 2 days for training but does this include my abs?

If this is what you want, do not allow anyone to negatively impact this desire.

For some, its pretty easy to make negative comments about anyone's goal (even power lifting), when it doesn't sit well with ones personal taste.

For just about everyone that wants a core, there is a corresponding dissent or distaste for them (for what ever personal reason).

And, then there are those that open there mouth and have dissent/distaste that cant muster the discipline in there diet to get them (because they tried and utterly failed, or simply don't have in them to produces the results, and poke fun to the ones that do, or just spat off).

I respect anyone's goals, because this is the beauty of fitness, you are able to to choose what your goals are that fits your personality and wants/desires.

IMO, there is nothing wrong with working the entire body and wanting to get lean enough to reveal the core. This is a good sound goal despite what anyone says. The path to get there, can be different from one person to the next, because the starting points and other variables of each person can be different.

My goal has always been train the entire body (including the cardiovascular system), and get lean enough to reveal the core.

I think at 50 I am doing just fine with these goals.

And so will you, IF this is what you WANT of diet and fitness.

How long this takes depends on your starting point, knowledge, and what you have access to train with.

Have you started a log yet?

What I would do is start a training log if you haven't already, post your personal particulars (hgt, wgt, etc), a picture of you currently, what you have to train with, and then we can set up recommendations more accurately to your personal position.

[TitanCT]

Wtf is everyone so obsessed with abs? Worry about your abs after you get hyooge and look like a man.