The six pack challenge !

Jeebus

Hey guys,

Ok, this is a bit of a weird story, but one of my friends has just written a play which the local drama club has agreed to perform, now they are a very small group, consisting mostly of women, so I have been enlisted to play a somewhat major part in the play. :rolleyes:

Anyway, the part requires me to have a six-pack, and a fairly decent one at that ! Herein lies the problem. I'm quite fit, play a lot of sports, so losing weight isnt really a problem, nor is eating healthily. The main problem is that our first screening will be on in about four weeks ! I've been working on it for about a week now, and done a small bit, but definetely nothing like I need to be doing.

So I guess my question is, do you think it is possible to get a six pack in four weeks, most guides say eight at least ! Also, do you have any exercises you would recommend I do ? At the moment I'm just doing your basic sit-up reps, but its starting to not have as great an effect as it did at the start. I am planning on keeping the six-pack after I (eventually) work one up, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks a lot guys,and sorry for the length of the post.

Caryatnid

I reckon other people will have much better advice than me on how to get a quick six-pack, fitnesswise. So I'm not going to talk about that.
My advice isn't necessarily healthy or appropriate: a quick way to get muscle definition on your belly is to lose some weight.

However, this is my input: Since you will be on a stage, I recommend make-up. This is to define your six-pack (or, perhaps, lack of). So, while you're taking a break from this, I suggest practising applying. Just get some blusher, and a big wide make-up brush for starters.

Since you will be on the stage, and hence far away, I imagine some properly applied make-up is a must for other people in similar roles.

Have fun.

Jeebus

Caryatnid wrote:

I reckon other people will have much better advice than me on how to get a quick six-pack, fitnesswise. So I'm not going to talk about that.
My advice isn't necessarily healthy or appropriate: a quick way to get muscle definition on your belly is to lose some weight.

However, this is my input: Since you will be on a stage, I recommend make-up. This is to define your six-pack (or, perhaps, lack of). So, while you're taking a break from this, I suggest practising applying. Just get some blusher, and a big wide make-up brush for starters.

Since you will be on the stage, and hence far away, I imagine some properly applied make-up is a must for other people in similar roles.

Have fun.

Great idea, thanks a lot ! Actually cant believe we didnt think of this earlier

But I would like to gain a real six pack afterwards, and I dont think walking around Limerick city with make-up all over my belly would go down to well ! So, please if any of you have any other advice, it is still appreciated, even if its just general and not for the "4-week" thing !

Anton17

Get someone to check your body fat, if its 10 or over forget about it! Try situps with a dumbell weight held to your chest, regular situps won't help much. If u have a gym ball use it for your crunchs. It allows you to lean back and increase the range of motion. And if you have a chin up bar you can use it for hanging leg raises.

If your getting desperate close to opening night, try dehydrate yourself, it will help with the definition, its a fairly common practice for professional body builders approaching photo shoots.

I dunno if this half baked advice wil be of any use but best of luck anyway!

g'em

dehydrating does work, but won't do you any favours if you're standing under harsh stage ligths all night getting overheated- you'll probably collapse mid-performance :rolleyes:

Diet really is the way to go, but even at that you may not get the traditional 'bulky' six pak as addorned by men's health magazines. Weighted ab exercises will help to some extent.

And yes, make up will too. Get a girl who knows her way around bronzing powder or a dark, tawny blusher to give you a hand creating shadows and shading in teh right places.

justsomebloke

Basically you are going to have to drop your BF% so basically your diet is going to have to be top notch, that and quite a bit of low intensity training to help try and remove some of the fat. As you say you do a lot of exercise anyway I am going with that you already have some ab muscle it is just covered in fat.So post up your current diet and we will see if there is anything that maybe changed, That and no cheat meals for the next month aswell.

As with everyone else though the whole painted on ab's effect maybe your best bet

Dan133269

I can't believe no one has said this so far but Jebus getting a six pack in 4 weeks is literally impossible, no matter how hard you try, sorry.
I see you're from Limerick, if you wanna bulk up and get some muscle there's no better place than the Arena in UL, one of the best gyms in the country, I'd recommend going there.

g'em

Dan133269 wrote:

I can't believe no one has said this so far but Jebus getting a six pack in 4 weeks is literally impossible, no matter how hard you try, sorry.

well, it's not really. It all depends on what your abs are like under the fat you carry around your tummy (and I don't just mean muscle mass, some people genetically have different shaped muscles than others that'll look 'naturally' better no matter how little they train. I don't like those people ). You can do an extreme weight loss diet (don't OP btw, not worth it) and shed heaps of fat very quickly and temporarily have a worthy six pack.

daveirl

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amazingemmet

Follow this for the four weeks and you'll be ripped to sh1t
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=05-009-diet

daveirl

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g'em

daveirl wrote:

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yes, absolutely. And be prepared for insomnia, mood swings, consuming 50% of your daily calories from oils, brain fog, a no-carb diet, lethargy, spending a fortune on supplements, training every day, a lifestyle overhaul for the duration of the diet... and a six pack

Velocity Diet = 28 days
Get Shredded = 42-84 days depending on how long you're willing ot commit to it.

Both are excellent but not to be taken light heartedly, and really only if you're prepared to give it 100%, if you're already lifting competent and have a good grasp of the basics.

Trust me, this is no Lipotrim... :rolleyes:

daveirl

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Dan133269

the only way what yer saying is possible for Jeebus to get his 6 pack within 4 weeks is if he has a six pack just waiting to emerge from a layer of fat, and judging from his post I doubt that's the case.
Even if it were the case, that would still not mean 4 weeks to get a six pack, it would be however long he spent building up his abs, presumably at least a good few months plus the 4 weeks losing the fat to allow them to show

justsomebloke

Dan133269 wrote:

the only way what yer saying is possible for Jeebus to get his 6 pack within 4 weeks is if he has a six pack just waiting to emerge from a layer of fat, and judging from his post I doubt that's the case.
Even if it were the case, that would still not mean 4 weeks to get a six pack, it would be however long he spent building up his abs, presumably at least a good few months plus the 4 weeks losing the fat to allow them to show

chances are that he does already have some sort of 6 pack if he is in anyway sporty as his core would probably be getting workout out a bit anyway no matter what he was doing. So chances are once he drops the bodyfat he may have visible abs

g'em

daveirl wrote:

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tbh dave those are the main reasons I went with GS too- I couldn't be doing wthout my wholefoods and I'm a big advocate for the thermogenic properties of whole foods over shakes. And yes, refeeds rock

@ Dan- we all have 'six packs' it's literally just how much fat that covers it that dictates how well our abs look. By doing weighted abs work you can build the abs muscle so that they're more prominent with higher bf levels.

Jeebus

Hey again,

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I didnt want to make a new one and clog up the forums even more ! Anyways, its getting close to the date now, and I've just gotten a few more questions that I'd like to ask, so if anybody could help that'd be great.

So, for the best/fastest results, should I be exercising my abs daily, or should I give them a rest every so often ? Up to now, I have been exercising daily,but now I hear off some people in the gym that because of the way the muscle heals, I'd probably develop a six-pack faster if I take a rest day every 2 days or so? Is this true ?

Also, can anybody recommend some high-intensity exercises for your abs ? I've done some googling, and bought one of those roundy big black inflatable ball thingies, but it doesnt see to be making much of an impact At the moment I'm using an old machine I got for $20 a few years ago thats meant to do your abs ( I think its called an ab buster or something . I'm also doing some basic stomach crunches, putting my legs up on a chair to add a little bit more intensity, and I've also just bought some weights to add to my work-out.

Will these exercises be enough to gain a six-pack or will something of a greater intensity be required. I was considering getting one of those things that you attach to the top of your door, and let you hang out of them so you can pull yourself up with your feet ? What are they called ? Can anyone give me an approximate price, also.

Thanks a lot guys, and sorry for all the questions !

brianthebard

How has the 6 pack progressed? Building a six pack is one of my goals as well as general fitness, so I'd be interested to know how quickly a person can form it and how much dieting etc is needed.

What type of sit ups are you doing? There are lots of different variations and you should probably be doing a few. For example if you put your left leg crossed over your right knee and curl towards your left knee (which is now perpendicular to your body) you should feel a difference.

g'em

There's a pretty good discussion about how to get well developed six pack from some good trainers on t-nation here

Jeebus

brianthebard wrote:

How has the 6 pack progressed? Building a six pack is one of my goals as well as general fitness, so I'd be interested to know how quickly a person can form it and how much dieting etc is needed.

What type of sit ups are you doing? There are lots of different variations and you should probably be doing a few. For example if you put your left leg crossed over your right knee and curl towards your left knee (which is now perpendicular to your body) you should feel a difference.

Pretty well, actually! I've been training about 3 weeks now, and can already see a difference, you wouldnt see it without looking for it though, to be fair. I wasnt dieting much, but did eat slightly less than I used to, but I'm pretty naturally thin so it wasn't that huge a factor.

I think by the 6th week (hopefully) they should be somewhat more impressive than they are now, but I'm certainly happy with the results so far ! I will try and post some pictures this time next week.

As for sit-ups, when I started out I was just doing normal common or garden types, as many as I could do until it hurted (not many if you're doing it right, to be honest), and then five more ! Then, when I stopped "feeling the burn" as much I changed to other types of sit ups, using my 'ab-buster' machine, and I've also started a new sit-up where I go up next to a chair and place my knees bent over the place where you would usually sit down. Its very painful, which is good !

I'm trying to use one of those stabilising balls to add some extra effect too, but they havent made me feel much in the way of "burn", so I've all but given up on them. Will try it again soon, but it hasnt done much for me. I've also started doing normal sit-ups again, but with a pair of 2.5kg weights places across my crossed arms, for added intensity, this makes a lot of difference !

Thats about it, so far, which is why I'm asking the regulars here for any more exercises they can recommend !

Also, g'em, thanks a lot for the link, I will have a look right now. You're a star

g'em

Jeebus wrote:

I'm trying to use one of those stabilising balls to add some extra effect too, but they havent made me feel much in the way of "burn", so I've all but given up on them. Will try it again soon, but it hasnt done much for me. I've also started doing normal sit-ups again, but with a pair of 2.5kg weights places across my crossed arms, for added intensity, this makes a lot of difference !

nay problemeroony. I'm going to try and keep my mouth shut about the stablising balls- I presume you mean the big blow up ones?!?! erm.. great fun to play on, but they don't do much else. A weighted medicine ball on teh other hand is great for core training- they usually weight from 5-10kg. And yes, you're right that weighted ab work will produce better results. The 'six-pack' ab muscles will respond similalry to most other groups when worked out with weight- they'll get bigger. So if you want big rounded abs that are clearly visible weighted work is the way to go about it.

Jeebus

g'em wrote:

nay problemeroony. I'm going to try and keep my mouth shut about the stablising balls- I presume you mean the big blow up ones?!?! erm.. great fun to play on, but they don't do much else. A weighted medicine ball on teh other hand is great for core training- they usually weight from 5-10kg. And yes, you're right that weighted ab work will produce better results. The 'six-pack' ab muscles will respond similalry to most other groups when worked out with weight- they'll get bigger. So if you want big rounded abs that are clearly visible weighted work is the way to go about it.

Hehe, yeah, I was wondering about those stabilising balls, they do feck all.

So, for purely cosmetic purposes only, how heavy a weight do you think I should aim for as a target ? Will 5-10kg be enough to get "six-pack abs", or should I be aiming much higher ?

Thanks a lot, again !

g'em

Jeebus wrote:

Will 5-10kg be enough to get "six-pack abs",

depends on how much you weigh.

Weighted sit-ups are very, very effective, but you'll need a raised surface (step-class steps or a bench are great) and use a weight that only lets you complete 8-12 reps. Or try janda sit-ups, jack-knife push-ups (google them)

brianthebard

Why do you need a raised surface for weighted sit ups g'em? I was going to incorporate them into my new workout.

g'em

you don't have to, it can just make it easier to manouever yourself into position, especially if you have a weight (or maybe it's just me :rolleyes: ). Flat floor is fine too, but try and keep a mat under you for comfort.

Froot

That velocity diet looks hardcore. I want it!

Is the protein not bad for your kidneys in the amounts suggested though?