It must be mentioned that no matter how much abdominal training you do or how great your routines are, you will never achieve a nice ripped midsection unless you follow a clean diet consisting of the correct amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Let’s answer some questions on abdominal training:
I have been working out for over a year now in order to build my abdominals. I have lost a lot of weight but to no avail and now I just look thin. I need to know what I should do and eat to build my abdominals and gain muscle mass?
Getting great abdominals is a combination of the following factors:
- A great diet consisting of (40% carbs, 40% proteins, 20% Good Fats), like the one I recommend on my book The Body Sculpting Bible for Men, works best for the purposes of losing body fat. Carbs should come mainly from complex slow releasing sources such as oatmeal, grits, brown rice, sweet potatoes in combination with fibrous sources such as green beans and broccoli. Proteins should come from chicken, turkey, tuna, and lean red meats. Since you are focused on reducing body fat, dairy products and fruits need to be eliminated at this time, not because they are not healthy but due to the fact that the type of carbs contained in these foods may slow down fat loss.
- A good weight training routine that has you in the gym for 45-60 minutes four to five times a week, with an abdominal program that is performed at least 3 times a week. For good examples of ab routines, see the article Abs Sculpting 101 which I wrote in conjunction with IFBB Figure Pro Marcy Porter.
- Enough cardio built into the program to start the fat loss process and burn some extra calories. 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week at a challenging pace should start producing results. For those of us with a slower metabolism, we may need up to 45 minutes 6-7 times a week.
- Finally, consume no more than your bodyweight x 12 in calories per day. On Sundays, increase this amount to 15 in order to increase the metabolism. Do the caloric increase in the form of carbs.
I cannot get rid of my lower ab fat and love handles. Is there any exercise that I can do to get rid of them?
While leg raise-type of exercises will work your lower abs, and twisting crunches will work your sides, these exercises only firm up and build up these muscles. In order to get rid of your lower ab fat and love handles you just need to lose enough body fat to where the fat on this area is burned as well. Typically, this type of fat is the last to go so for women to lose it they need to go down to 12-13% body fat and males down to 6-7% body fat. Having said that, you’re cardiovascular and nutrition programs will play a huge role in helping you burn that stubborn fat.
Do weighted ab exercises give you a bloated stomach?
Adding weight to abdominal exercises will not give you a bloated stomach look. Instead, by adding weights you will target the fast twitch muscle fibers in the abs and thus create a six-pack with deeper groves in between.
What Is A Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber?
It is generally accepted that there are two basic types of muscle fibers. Slow twitch (Type I) muscle and fast twitch (Type II) muscle fiber. Fast twitch fibers can be an asset to a sprinter when there is a limited amount of time to generate maximal force. The slow twitch fibers, on the other hand, fire less rapidly, but can go for a long time before they fatigue.
However, beware of using heavy weights when training the obliques unless you want big sides and a wide waist. Obliques respond well to heavy training, so please do not make the mistake of training them with heavy weights and low reps as this will kill your V-taper.
Are higher repetitions best for getting your abs?
Initially, ab training should just consist of two to three movements at the most, performed for 2-3 sets of as many good repetitions as the person can do with his/her bodyweight. As time goes by and one progresses, more sets can be added and repetition parameters can also be manipulated by adding weights to some exercises in order to target the fast twitch muscle fibers in the abs and thus create a six pack with deeper groves in between. So to answer the question, a repetition range between 6-25 works best. However, sometimes to shock the muscle, I may do as much as 100 reps for certain exercises but may only do this for a week.
How often should I train my abs for best results?
While many advanced bodybuilders and figure girls can train their abs every day for a short period of time in order to shock the body part, this typically will lead to overtraining if continued for too long. Therefore, unless you are doing upper abdominals one day and lower the next, you are better off training your abdominals for no more than 20 minutes at a time, 3 times per week on alternating days, as in Mon/Wed/Fri or every other day at the most (thus one week you will train them four times and the next 3 times).
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Author Bio
Hugo Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE and About.com Bodybuilding Guide is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi-certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he is always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions. He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called “The Body Sculpting Bibles” which collectively have sold over a million copies. For more information on Hugo’s Muscle Building / Fat Loss Program please click on the link below:
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