How to get a six pack?

absolut3_slim

Can anyone give me any tips,im 5'10 9.5 stone?Just want to get into shape and lose the belly,im not fat or anything though!Any help would be apreciated!

logic1

.logic.

FruitLover

What kind of belly could you possibly have at 9.5 stone??

There are a fair few threads in the past on this topic on this board, do a quick search for abdominal exercises or some such.

BrianD3

He could well have a flabby belly at 9.5 stone. I believe this is known as being "skinny fat". There are lots of guys like this.

BrianD3

Spalk0

Just do situps man and lots of them!

Works for me!

absolut3_slim

How many a day starting off etc,do you diet at all?

OFDM

Trigger! wrote:

Just do situps man and lots of them!

Spot Reduction Myth

Tiriel

"Sit-ups, crunches, leg-hip raises, leg raises, hip adduction, hip abduction, etc. will only exercise the muscles under the fat.

Incidentally, fat is also stored under the abdominal muscles and around the intestines and other organs. This can contribute to the "pot belly", pushing the abdominal muscles and the overlying fat outward."
That makes sense!! yikes it's lousy though isn't it. Didn't think of it that way at all

logic1

ok may aswell post a sensible answer. At 9.5stone 5'10" and fat it would indeed seem that you're 'skinny fat'.

This can be due to a number of reasons, body type, basal metabolic rate, lack of muscle mass and bone density.

To loose the weight you'd have to diet and do cardio work like any other person.

As regards abs some people are genetically predisposed to having distinct abs while others aren't.

Some people can diet down to show their abs while others will never see them as the effort of staying at such a low bodyfat would be extremly taxing and bordering on unhealthy in some cases.

For women it's much harder to gets distinct abs as they have a naturally higher bodyfat than men.

Basically if you don't have the genetics you have very little chance of ever seeing the abs regardless of what exercises you do.

.logic.

Pherekydes

If a duck went through med school would it become a ducktor, or would it be a quack?

Amnesiac_ie

I'm skinny-fat!

First of all, you need to reduce your total body fat content. Ideally this should be done by cardiovascular exercise (i.e. 30mins x 4 times a week @ 160bpm) and cutting your calorie intake if you are over eating. There is no way a six pack will be visible unless your total body fat content is under a certain level.

At the same time, you'll want to work on strengthening your abdominal muscles. You could try alternating an abs work out and jogging/cycling every second day. I found the Swiss Ball very useful when starting to train my abs.

And cut down on the booze!

Tiriel

Slow coach wrote:

If a duck went through med school would it become a ducktor, or would it be a quack?

good one!!!

kazzer

If you get ripped by means of a calorie reduced diet and a combination of cv and strength training/weight lifting YOU WILL SEE YOUR ABS......ie YOU WILL GET A SIX PACK


Its already there.....just shed the fat

FruitLover

kazzer wrote:

Its already there.....just shed the fat

It's not necessarily already there - I have no fat on my belly, yet I have no six pack. Presumably the muscles aren't big enough.

kazzer

It's not necessarily already there - I have no fat on my belly, yet I have no six pack. Presumably the muscles aren't big enough.

So your saying you have no abdominal muscles?!?! :eek:

If you say theres not a pick of fat on your stomach yet you dont have a six pack, I find it difficult to visualise what your stomach looks like. And everyone has a certain amount of fat covering the abs.

The abs like any other muscle need resistance training just like any other muscle to make them hard, strong , and stand out. Very few exercises will beat the plain old sit up.

logic1

kazzer wrote:

So your saying you have no abdominal muscles?!?! :eek:

If you say theres not a pick of fat on your stomach yet you dont have a six pack, I find it difficult to visualise what your stomach looks like. And everyone has a certain amount of fat covering the abs.

The abs like any other muscle need resistance training just like any other muscle to make them hard, strong , and stand out. Very few exercises will beat the plain old sit up.

You seem to be finding it hard to accept the fact some people will never have clearly visible abs. It's based on pure genetics. Some people will never be able to be at such a low bodyfat to have visible abs while not starving to death or suffering from extreme muscle wastage.

.logic.

FruitLover

kazzer wrote:

So your saying you have no abdominal muscles?!?! :eek:

Nope, I have no six pack, meaning my abdominal muscles are not easily visible. I have very little body fat, but my abdominal muscles are just not big enough to be noticable.

kazzer

First we must define what a six pack is, because if we dont, the discussion is useless. To me it is a "clearly defined rectus abdominus"

You seem to be finding it hard to accept the fact some people will never have clearly visible abs. It's based on pure genetics.

Yes I do, beacuse if your bodyfat is low enough (healthy athletic range) and you are training your abs then then they will be visible. No secret formulas or bull****; its not rocket science. A human being is a human being.

your body will burn bodyfat if its not given enough enough calories. When this happens your rectus abdominus shows because the excess body fat is consumed by the body.

However, YOU MUST TRAIN THE MUSCLE SO THAT IT IS HARD and STRONG SO THAT IT STANDS OUT IN BOLD RELIEF.

Anything else is a cop out. Diet and work out hard and you will have a six pack. Again I ask, what defines a six pack?

Nope, I have no six pack, meaning my abdominal muscles are not easily visible. I have very little body fat, but my abdominal muscles are just not big enough to be noticable.

I recommend performing situps to muscular failure. When your bodyweight is not sufficient, hold a barbell plate on your chest. No pain no gain - a cliche but its the truth.

kazzer

good luck with the training everyone

logic1

kazzer wrote:

First we must define what a six pack is, because if we dont, the discussion is useless. To me it is a "clearly defined rectus abdominus"

Funnily you're big on definitions but keep incorrectly using the 'sixpack' misnomer when the rectus abdominus is actually one muscle separated into eight sections (by the linea alba and tendinous incscriptions) thus making it an eight pack.

Yes I do, beacuse if your bodyfat is low enough (healthy athletic range) and you are training your abs then then they will be visible. No secret formulas or bull****; its not rocket science. A human being is a human being.

Sure but each human being has a genetic predisposition to fat storage on certain areas of the body. Some people will not looose enough fat around the ab region to ever clearly display their abs. Also I'm not sure what you're calling a healthy athletic range, 6%? 8%? 12%? Are you using the same range for men and women? details details...

your body will burn bodyfat if its not given enough enough calories. When this happens your rectus abdominus shows because the excess body fat is consumed by the body.

Umm your body burns bodyfat all the time whether given enough calories or not however the danger is your body can more easily burn muscle than fat hence using your calorie depletion method above with poor diet and incorrect calorie control (low protein) will actually result in muscle wastage of the exact muscles you're trying to display. Nice one.

I recommend performing situps to muscular failure. When your bodyweight is not sufficient, hold a barbell plate on your chest. No pain no gain - a cliche but its the truth.

Ah.. recommending situps for defined abs is probably the worst route any trainer can follow. The best route for defining and building abs is basing your workout around deep lying core muscles and stabilizers. Development of these core muscles routinely instead of the exterior superficial ones will result in much better results with less injury risk.

.logic.

kazzer

Funnily you're big on definitions but keep incorrectly using the 'sixpack' misnomer when the rectus abdominus is actually one muscle separated into eight sections (by the linea alba and tendinous incscriptions) thus making it an eight pack.

Im just keeping inline with the original title of the thread. Come on dont split hairs.

Umm your body burns bodyfat all the time whether given enough calories or not however the danger is your body can more easily burn muscle than fat hence using your calorie depletion method above with poor diet and incorrect calorie control (low protein) will actually result in muscle wastage of the exact muscles you're trying to display. Nice one.

Dont put words in mouth. I never mentioned a specific diet, poor or otherwise. Of course you must folllow a proper diet. Taking in fewer calories than you need is essential to losing bodyfat - come on this is common sense stuff.

Ah.. recommending situps for defined abs is probably the worst route any trainer can follow. The best route for defining and building abs is basing your workout around deep lying core muscles and stabilizers. Development of these core muscles routinely instead of the exterior superficial ones will result in much better results with less injury risk.

Your opinion. And only one of many.

absolut3_slim

So basically if I do enough sit-ups and eat less sweets etc. i have a good chance of getting my six-pack to appear?Anyone got any diets idea's or anymore help.Thanks for all the replies so far everyone!

kazzer

absolut3_slim,

I advise you to use a total body approach. That is, a helathy diet that provides you with the nutrients that your body needs - with an allowance for some junk food in moderation, cardiovascular training, and of course weight/resistance training including abdominal exercises.

MrNuked

This thread discusses the best abdomenal exercises:

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=189470&highlight=abdominal+exercises

Situps don't exercise enough of the abdomenal muscles, so they are not particularly effective by themselves.

logic1

kazzer wrote:

Dont put words in mouth. I never mentioned a specific diet, poor or otherwise. Of course you must folllow a proper diet. Taking in fewer calories than you need is essential to losing bodyfat - come on this is common sense stuff.

Is it? If so your common sense is also wrong. You can eat at your BMR calorie allowance and use CV work to loose fat. A calorie deficit in your diet is not essential at all. It does however make things alot easier.

Your opinion. And only one of many.

One of many what? Isn't everything only someone's opinion? Whether backed by scientific study or not it's still someones opinion. Some opinions however are more correct than others. Rather useless point you've raised tbh.

.logic.

kazzer

You can eat at your BMR calorie allowance and use CV work to loose fat.

Yes, so the CV work increases your calorie requirement.

So a person can loose fat by eating the exact amount of calories the body needs to maintain itself??? Doesnt make sense.

logic1

kazzer wrote:

Yes, so the CV work increases your calorie requirement.

So a person can loose fat by eating the exact amount of calories the body needs to maintain itself??? Doesnt make sense.

Ok evidently you don't understand the principle of BMR. BMR is the amount of calories needed to maintain at rest.

You cannot increase your immediate BMR by doing CV work as, well, CV work isn't exactly rest is it. Therefore by eating at your BMR and including CV work it should be clear how it's easy to loose weight. However with consistent CV work your previous BMR will alter and you will have to adjust accordingly.

If you need anything else explained to you don't hesitate to ask.

.logic.

kazzer

http://www.howstuffworks.com/diet.htm/printable

Heres an excerpt:-

"...As you can see from these examples, the only way to lose fat is to consume fewer calories per day than your body needs. For every 3,500 calories that your body takes from its fat reserves, you lose 1 pound (0.45 kg) of body fat. You can create the deficit either by monitoring and restricting your intake of calories, or by exercising, or both. "


This is the only point I was making logic

logic1

kazzer wrote:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/diet.htm/printable

Heres an excerpt:-

This is the only point I was making logic

howstuffworks.com is the definitive health and fitness resource alright. :rolleyes:

.logic.

kazzer

All im saying is: if you are only eating at your BMR AND doing CV, then you are taking in fewer calories than your body needs. Hence you will lose fat. You're right we agree on that!

That article makes perfect sense to me.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

maybe you'll lose fat, but at the expense of your good health?

dieting should be a health issue, not a cosmetic one.

kazzer

I agree. Unfortunately our society is a cosmetic one.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

fight the system

it isn't ... "good" to reccomend to someone to take in less energy/nourishment than their body needs in order to lose weight or change the way your body looks. If your body can look that way normally, then exercise and eat well and it will. If your body just isn't meant to look that way (like logic says, some people have it.. some don't) then.. starving yourself and pushing yourself beyond the limits of good health are hardly sensible choices.

kazzer

I really dont want to go off topic with this but losing bodyfat is not necessarily a bad thing. Far too many people in this country need to lose body fat to be healthy. I am certainly not recommending starvation or pushing yourself beyond your limits. Im talking about a small reduction in your daily calories, perhaps 200 cals. Thats not drastic, unless your already very lean I dont see it as a problem.

Musashi

I have no predisposition to being a ripped "six pack" person, but i have at times had one.
What it took was huge amounts of cardio,jogging around 30 or 40 miles a week,plus Martial Arts classes twice a week for three hours a time,and a few squash games in between.At the same time I was in the Gym four times a week,up to an hour at a time,training to complete muscular failure on my last sets each time. Yes,this does mean that most days I trained twice a day not counting my stretching!!
Then there is Diet! I ate Breakfast,a Banana, first break(I work full time) an apple and 500ml water,second break two apples and a litre of water, dinner was whatever everyone else was having,minus the carbs.I'd eat the meat and veg and leave the rest.after training I had protein shake and coming up to a tournament i would set an alarm for around four am and have a protein shake again.
Even doing all this I fought between 68 and 72 kilos,my regular weight being about 76 kilos.I had cut abs but not especially so considering the fitness level I was at.Any lapse in this regime and I was smooth without being fat,just no abs showing.
I was also very prone to colds and mouth Ulcers,despite taking a shed load of vitamins and supplements every day.
Please do not tell me I could have done more exercise or dieting or taken something to help me out.I can cut up but I will be weak as **** and hold the weight and look for a couple weeks before going back up to a normal weight.Some people rip up easily and some are not ever going to have Six Packs that you can see easily.
Thanks for your time.

IrishMike

So what you are telling me Musashi is that my 30 sit ups a night are not gonna make me
look like those guys from baywatch ?

accensi0n

hes telling you that if your one of the lucky people they will.

Musashi

It Depends

My stomach training after each weights session was 50 crunchs and 50 knee ins per set for three sets.
In MA class we used to sit at the edge of a stage with a person sitting on our feet,lay back until your were maybe a foot below parallel and as you sat up you threw punchs into focus pads held by your partner.We did the feet six inches off the ground routine and Vee-Ups as well as just tensing the abs while a partner threw lightish turning kicks to the midsection.
Your abs can take a huge amount of work and respond very quickly to training,even every day where most muscle groups need time to recover.The muscle may be in great shape but a very thin layer of fat will hide them completely.
I think you may need to add reps or weight to your work out if 30 sit-ups is your total ab routine.Good luck!

hauptmann

Join a boxing club or kickboxing and thatll get u the figure u want

BrianD3

Musashi's post about MA training and getting someone to kick you in the stomach while you tense your abs reminds me of something. I'm sure I heard before that part of Mike Tyson's training was getting someone to drop a heavy dumbbell onto his abdomen while he lay on the floor. The idea being to condition the ab muscles for taking a hard body punch. Is this a true story or just BS? I tried something similar myself for a while and it did seem to make my abs which were already well developed, stronger and harder. I stopped because it seems like a pretty dangerous activity (could cause idamage to intestines and internal organs etc.)

BrianD3

kazzer

Musashi's post about MA training and getting someone to kick you in the stomach while you tense your abs reminds me of something. I'm sure I heard before that part of Mike Tyson's training was getting someone to drop a heavy dumbbell onto his abdomen while he lay on the floor. The idea being to condition the ab muscles for taking a hard body punch. Is this a true story or just BS? I tried something similar myself for a while and it did seem to make my abs which were already well developed, stronger and harder. I stopped because it seems like a pretty dangerous activity (could cause idamage to intestines and internal organs etc.)

I know that boxers tend to do this with a medicine ball, not sure about the dumbell!

IrishMike

Yup almost sure thats true. He developed a hairline fracture on his spine before a fight a
few years back from doing it as far as i remember.
Tough f ucker, pity his head was so screwed up.

Musashi

I'd second using a medicine ball ,or have a partner put on a focus mitt and whack you in the abs as you crunch up.It makes you tense the muscles more,like a body builder flexing and posing gives them more definition and seperation, or so I've heard?