I want more ripped Abs!!!

Claire_lou1983 · 28-02-2008 2:33pm #1

I have been doing 200 sits up every other day or every day, depending on how sore I am when I wake up for the past near 2 months. In fairness I got the makings of a 6 pack after only 3 weeks, but I seem to have platoed and cant get my tummy any more ripped.

I do 30-40 mins cardio about 3-4 times a week and eat a very healthy diet Mon to Sat and dont drink much. I thought I would have rock hard abs after maybe 3 months or so, but according to a mate I would need to be eating a serious amount of protein for that : / is that true???

arybvtcw0eolkf · 28-02-2008 2:43pm

Ripped abs (ripped anything) = Diet.

Khannie · 28-02-2008 2:48pm

From what I understand it's very hard to get a 6 pack as a lady. G'em knows best. I'm sure she'll be along soon.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 28-02-2008 2:50pm

Khannie wrote: »

From what I understand it's very hard to get a 6 pack as a lady. G'em knows best. I'm sure she'll be along soon.

Nah, the muscle is there but the fat covering is more effected by diet and time of month than it is for the lads.

Plus females normally hold higher BF levels than men. But it can be done.

Einstein · 28-02-2008 2:50pm

Khannie wrote: »

From what I understand it's very hard to get a 6 pack as a lady. G'em knows best. I'm sure she'll be along soon.

don't count on it, she's in Oz for two weeks...grrrr...:p

Dragan · 28-02-2008 2:54pm

Try cleaning up your diet on a Sunday for 4 weeks with the exception of maybe one cheat meal a day and see what happens.

Often times the best solutions are the simplest.

aye · 28-02-2008 2:56pm

Mairt wrote: »

Nah, the muscle is there but the fat covering is more effected by diet and time of month than it is for the lads.

Plus females normally hold higher BF levels than men. But it can be done.

that is most likely the issue.
its not that easy to get your abs showing, you need to have a very low body fat percentage.

you oucld try changing the sit up you are doing?
bicycle sit up, reverse curls, roll outs, planks.
use a fit ball.

this wil help with the muscle development, but you need to lose body fat to show the abs.

building muscle and cardio will hepl with a body fat lose.

justsomebloke · 28-02-2008 2:59pm

ye as stated above diet is the key. However just remember the healthy BF% for a women is higher then that of a man so getting down to the point of ripped abs may effect things like your menstrual cycle.

Claire_lou1983 · 28-02-2008 6:01pm

Yeah your right about woman and periods, I suffer terrible with water retention and bloatedness. Therefore I can only see my faint 4 pack first thing in the morning and after a carb free meal.

I am only ickle and not even 8 stone and I am very very determined and I will get myself a 6 packs for the summer if it kills me!!! I try to eat only good carbs and good fats like nuts and mackeral and stuff.

I know guys who have never done sit up and have unbelievable abs from jogging!!! Lucky swines. I do still feel the burn though when I do sit ups, even after the first 30 which is good.

rubadub · 28-02-2008 6:07pm

Claire_lou1983 wrote: »

I know guys who have never done sit up and have unbelievable abs from jogging!!! Lucky swines. I do still feel the burn though when I do sit ups, even after the first 30 which is good.

Heavy squats will develop your abs, and squats are a far better exercise than situps. You could try weighted situps, to train for muscle growth/hypertrophy most will say to stick to the 8-12rep range. At 30 per set you are not working them hard enough anymore.

squats will develop muscle all over, resulting in more calories being used, and boosting your metabolism. This will make fat loss easier which is what visible abs are all about. your running mates are probably just thin.
Get a chinning bar and you can do leg raises too.

Khannie · 28-02-2008 9:25pm

Einstein wrote: »

don't count on it, she's in Oz for two weeks...grrrr...:p

I would be jealous and hurling profanities....but I'm off to Thailand for 3 weeks next week.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 28-02-2008 11:24pm

Claire_lou1983 wrote: »

Yeah your right about woman and periods, I suffer terrible with water retention and bloatedness. Therefore I can only see my faint 4 pack first thing in the morning and after a carb free meal.

I am only ickle and not even 8 stone and I am very very determined and I will get myself a 6 packs for the summer if it kills me!!! I try to eat only good carbs and good fats like nuts and mackeral and stuff.

I know guys who have never done sit up and have unbelievable abs from jogging!!! Lucky swines. I do still feel the burn though when I do sit ups, even after the first 30 which is good.

Ok, re. your period. This can be sorted in most case's with lowering your sodium (salts) intake around the time of your period. Although its a good thing to lower it totally anyway. Sodium promotes water retention, particularly badly around the time of a woman's period.

Looking at what else you've posted I truely think you'll get your abs for summer with tweaking your diet and training.

I'd start with the diet first.

KiwiChick · 29-02-2008 11:40am

Claire_lou1983 wrote: »

I have been doing 200 sits up every other day or every day, depending on how sore I am when I wake up for the past near 2 months. In fairness I got the makings of a 6 pack after only 3 weeks, but I seem to have platoed and cant get my tummy any more ripped.

I do 30-40 mins cardio about 3-4 times a week and eat a very healthy diet Mon to Sat and dont drink much. I thought I would have rock hard abs after maybe 3 months or so, but according to a mate I would need to be eating a serious amount of protein for that : / is that true???

Women need to be 16% bf or less before you can see the ab's properly, thats what I've read and been told.
Since I've been lifting heavy weights and dropped my reps I've found I'm getting way better results. Still a good bit higher than the 16% bf though. Also fould that keeping track of my diet has made a huge difference too.

Dragan · 29-02-2008 11:50am

KiwiChick wrote: »

I've read and been told that women need to be 16% bf or less before you can see the ab's properly?

Everyone is different. People store adipose in different area's, might hold water differently, skin thickness, muscle tie ins etc all can dictate your abs showing or not.

Me, i have very shallow abs, don't ever remember them being visible except when i was 8 to 9% ( **** me those were the days ) a friend of mine that i train with on an off normally comes in about 12 to 13% and has visible abs at the bodyfat level.

KiwiChick · 29-02-2008 12:00pm

Good point, everybody is different.
While on the subject of ab's, what is the most effective exercise(s)? I've been trying to concentrate on my diet and get the weight off before doing specific ab work, any suggestions?

Hanley · 29-02-2008 12:18pm

I don't see why people wait til their bodyfat's low enough before they start doing ab work. Sure, you're not gonna see them, but a strong core is still incredibly important.

My faves are decline sit ups and hanging leg raises.

jumbopalumbo · 29-02-2008 12:30pm

Seen a great article in MD before where the measured the muscular response for some ab exercises to rate which ones were the most productive, Straight Leg Raise in a Roman Chair was 1st, Bicycle Crunch 2nd, but really i dont think its too important find which ones u can feel workin the most and progress from der

Edwardius · 29-02-2008 12:35pm

Hmmm, you could grab one of those ab-wheels. They seem a little crap until you see what can be done with them. see here: http://www.beastskills.com/AbWheel.htm. That should help to develop the muscles further but there's no sub for diet and reducing bodyfat.

timetogetfit · 01-03-2008 6:43pm

You say your diet is healthy but alot of people think their diet is healthy and it may be for the average lay person but what your trying to achieve does sometimes take drastic measures I know that GEM did the GSD get shredded diet diet last year to get really cut and thast very tough mentally.and your right you do need to eat lots of protein when getting ripped the reason being is because firstly carbs are dropped severly so you want to be getting a big % of your cals from protein and fats you can get carbs from fibrous veg also the other reason to eat alot of protein is because when you cut cals on a diet your body looks to get ebergy from somewhere else and you want it to take it primarily from your fat stores if you dont eat enough protein it will also take it from your muscle tissue which you do not want and this will slow down your metabolism and make your efforts to get lean even harder you can read abou the gsd diet on www.t-nation.com but be warned its not for the faint hearted

Hanley · 02-03-2008 12:52am

timetogetfit wrote: »

You say your diet is healthy but alot of people think their diet is healthy and it may be for the average lay person but what your trying to achieve does sometimes take drastic measures I know that GEM did the GSD get shredded diet diet last year to get really cut and thast very tough mentally.and your right you do need to eat lots of protein when getting ripped the reason being is because firstly carbs are dropped severly so you want to be getting a big % of your cals from protein and fats you can get carbs from fibrous veg also the other reason to eat alot of protein is because when you cut cals on a diet your body looks to get ebergy from somewhere else and you want it to take it primarily from your fat stores if you dont eat enough protein it will also take it from your muscle tissue which you do not want and this will slow down your metabolism and make your efforts to get lean even harder you can read abou the gsd diet on www.t-nation.com but be warned its not for the faint hearted

Surely you're not suggesting the GSD is in someway "healthy"?

Boston · 02-03-2008 11:41am

Dead Ed wrote: »

Hmmm, you could grab one of those ab-wheels. They seem a little crap until you see what can be done with them. see here: http://www.beastskills.com/AbWheel.htm. That should help to develop the muscles further but there's no sub for diet and reducing bodyfat.

Ah yes, roll outs, anyone know where to buy one of those wheels.

JMCD · 02-03-2008 1:45pm

Boston wrote: »

Ah yes, roll outs, anyone know where to buy one of those wheels.

Argos are selling them now.......for around 14/15 euro.

timetogetfit · 02-03-2008 1:49pm

Surely you're not suggesting the GSD is in someway "healthy"?

I am not, Dr John Bernardi says it is healthy to do for 12 weeks every year, I am not sure whether that is true or not but for getting abs it those work

Roper · 02-03-2008 2:56pm

timetogetfit wrote: »

You say your diet is healthy but alot of people think their diet is healthy and it may be for the average lay person but what your trying to achieve does sometimes take drastic measures I know that GEM did the GSD get shredded diet diet last year to get really cut and thast very tough mentally.and your right you do need to eat lots of protein when getting ripped the reason being is because firstly carbs are dropped severly so you want to be getting a big % of your cals from protein and fats you can get carbs from fibrous veg also the other reason to eat alot of protein is because when you cut cals on a diet your body looks to get ebergy from somewhere else and you want it to take it primarily from your fat stores if you dont eat enough protein it will also take it from your muscle tissue which you do not want and this will slow down your metabolism and make your efforts to get lean even harder you can read abou the gsd diet on www.t-nation.com but be warned its not for the faint hearted

This guy needs to be not listened to. He's giving advice when by his own admission he's neither fit nor healthy and unwilling to try to be either. I'm sorry to say it timetogetfit but I've lost patience with you and I'm reporting your post. I NEVER report posts!

Hanley · 02-03-2008 3:19pm

timetogetfit wrote: »

I am not, Dr John Bernardi says it is healthy to do for 12 weeks every year, I am not sure whether that is true or not but for getting abs it those work

Think about it, it puts you in an unsustainable state. If that level of bodyfat/eating habits were sustainable all year round there would be no need for people to run it once a year. It's complete and utter madness to attempt to recommend a diet that it probably only surpassed in severity by a bodybuilder gettting ready for a competition to a girl who you've basically NO info about.

Who wants to have abs for only a short amount of time? After going thru all that sh!te I'd be expecting to hold onto them forever. But that won't happen. Why not? BECAUSE IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE USED TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE LEVEL OF LEANESS. I really cannot make it any clearer than that. I'd imagine that once the OP bumps her kcals back up she'll gain weight quite quickly since most people don't know what it takes, or have the control to prevent this coming off a severe cut.

The OP is 8 stone. 8 stone... that's tiny. I sincerly doubt massive amounts of bodyfat is what's holding her back. Thus there is no need for her to even contemplate the GSD. At 8 stone I doubt she has an appreciable amount of muscle mass either, so she'd basically be cutting to nothing. 12 weeks of minimal calories, fcuked up menstural cycles and all 'round crankiness to basically become skinny-fat? No thanks.

Claire_Lou, I'm guessing you want to firm up, get abs and be able to look good all year round right??

davyjose · 02-03-2008 3:57pm

timetogetfit wrote: »

I am not, Dr John Bernardi says it is healthy to do for 12 weeks every year, I am not sure whether that is true or not but for getting abs it those work

There's a dif between "Healthy" and "Not going to kill you".

Roper · 02-03-2008 4:07pm

Well put Hanley. This is why people should be careful about the advice they give and the advice they take.

timetogetfit · 02-03-2008 7:26pm

This guy needs to be not listened to. He's giving advice when by his own admission he's neither fit nor healthy and unwilling to try to be either. I'm sorry to say it timetogetfit but I've lost patience with you and I'm reporting your post. I NEVER report posts!

Some of the leading nutrition experts on the world dont follow what they preach, just because I dont follow what I know doesnt mean what im saying isnt true. Is this board only for fit people to give advice?And about the GSD diet the OP said she wanted to get lean Dr John Bernardi says its healthy if used over a short period of time .I believe him over anybody on this board

Alot of people get hot an bothered about my posts on this board and I have to ask WHY?

I am not being abusive or insulting to anyone and alot of the info I give is correct advice

If you dont want to respond or dont like my posts then dont respond to them ,its a free coun try after all

And roper why dont you make an actual contribution to the OP's post instead of critizizing mine

timetogetfit · 02-03-2008 7:30pm

Also I am afraid to defend myself on here in case I get banned , I have never seen people get so easily worked up over nothing.I actually sense that alot of people here are jealous that a guy thats out of shape can have so much fitness knowledge.

Oh I have done it now, I will probably get a lifetime ban

Transform · 02-03-2008 7:39pm

Its not jealousy - you have not earned the right to give advice and the advice you give takes no consideration of the person you are giving advice to.

NONE of the 'leading experts' in nutrition, exercise or motivation i ever listen to don't practice what they preach

timetogetfit · 02-03-2008 7:43pm

Its not jealousy - you have not earned the right to give advice and the advice you give takes no consideration of the person you are giving advice to.

NONE of the 'leading experts' in nutrition, exercise or motivation i ever listen to don't practice what they preach

Says the guy who got totally owned on national radio by an ignorant paronoid doctor who hasnt got a clue about creatine supplementation

davyjose · 02-03-2008 7:46pm

timetogetfit wrote: »

Also I am afraid to defend myself on here in case I get banned , I have never seen people get so easily worked up over nothing.I actually sense that alot of people here are jealous that a guy thats out of shape can have so much fitness knowledge.

Oh I have done it now, I will probably get a lifetime ban

The problem is, as I can see it, is you come on asking for advice, don't take it and then turn around and dish it out to others. It just annoys people. I think you get a hard time here, but you set yourself up for it a bit.

Apologies Mods & OP for going off topic.

Roper · 02-03-2008 8:16pm

I'm sure some of the leading experts don't follow their own advice, but I'm also sure they have things like "Doctor" and "Professor" before their name to more than make up for it.

You're some boyo. Coming soon, the OJ Simpson's "How to Save Your Marriage" course, followed swiftly by "Parenthood- the ups and downs" by Mr. and Mrs. Culkin.

cunnins4 · 02-03-2008 8:55pm

timetogetfit wrote: »

Alot of people get hot an bothered about my posts on this board and I have to ask WHY?

I am not being abusive or insulting to anyone and alot of the info I give is correct advice

timetogetfit wrote: »

Says the guy who got totally owned on national radio by an ignorant paronoid doctor who hasnt got a clue about creatine supplementation

smashey · 03-03-2008 12:03am

Transform wrote: »

Its not jealousy - you have not earned the right to give advice and the advice you give takes no consideration of the person you are giving advice to.

NONE of the 'leading experts' in nutrition, exercise or motivation i ever listen to don't practice what they preach

Pardon my asking, but since when did somebody have to earn the right to give advice here?

It's an open forum.

timetogetfit wrote: »

Says the guy who got totally owned on national radio by an ignorant paronoid doctor who hasnt got a clue about creatine supplementation

You need to calm yourself.

Infracted.

Okay everybody, I'd just like to point out that there is a general rule on boards and that is, attack the post, not the poster. Please try to remember this in future.

justsomebloke · 03-03-2008 8:26am

timetogetfit if you feel you are being hard done by start a thread in feedback as this isn't the place for it

smashey · 03-03-2008 10:19am

jsb wrote: »

timetogetfit if you feel you are being hard done by start a thread in feedback as this isn't the place for it

@Hanley,

This post is advice.

Back seat modding is when somebody reports a post and suggests a punishment. (Amongst other things).

ali.c · 03-03-2008 10:27am

timetogetfit wrote: »

And about the GSD diet the OP said she wanted to get lean Dr John Bernardi says its healthy if used over a short period of time .

He also said that following the "7 habits of highly effective eating" is the first step in meeting peoples phyique goals and normally all that alot of people require. Sure alot of what you say is *not wrong* but it out of the original context is was written.

Dragan · 03-03-2008 10:45am

Dom and Barry,

will you guys kindly stop commenting on other posters? Thanks. If you have an issue with the presence of anyone here then PM a Mod or take it to feedback.

Please don't do it in thread. I know both you guys like to get the words in but your also two guys i don't particularly want to bar from here as you bring the knowledge and , more importantly, the truth.

Timetogetfit ,

what did i say to you last week? Remember that.

Roper · 03-03-2008 10:59am

Okay, I can dig it.

This is why the rough rule of "back it up" was introduced though. We've just seen an unhealthy solution doled out as advice because the person responding had no real world experience. I wasn't neccessarily attacking the poster but rather the inherint dangers of people who have read a few articles doling out advice as though they know their stuff.

In any case, I'll watch my manners in future

justsomebloke · 03-03-2008 11:19am

Roper wrote: »

This is why the rough rule of "back it up" was introduced though.

no it's the other one that the mods are pushing, the attack the post not the poster one;):D:D:D

Vegeta · 03-03-2008 11:36am

To the mods, sorry reported a post that has been dealt with, apologies

Look the GSD is extreme (even the folks on this forum who tried it, Dragan and g'em as far as I'm aware, would be the first to say how rough it was), I went under 30 grams of carbs a day for 9 weeks before xmas and that was tough (for me) I cant actually imagine trying the GSD as its pretty difficult I'd imagine

So if the GSD is your first bit of advice for someone looking to lose a bit of body fat I think it is a little to much tbh.

Dragan · 03-03-2008 1:46pm

Personally i would only take advice about the GSD from people who have actually done it.

And chances are they will tell you not to bother.

davyjose · 03-03-2008 1:52pm

I think that's the point Transform was making.

Anyway back OT, people say that dropping bodyfat is the only way to see abs and that sit-ups don't mean anything etc., but surely working on developing the muscle will increase definition, am I right? The only time I've ever seen any kind of abs on myself was when I worked very hard on them.

Transform · 03-03-2008 7:42pm

Points taken.

Would love to know what claire Lou is doing differently now though?

I hope this discussion has not put her off and she has started doing some varied core work.

Edwardius · 03-03-2008 9:12pm

davyjose wrote: »

I think that's the point Transform was making.

Anyway back OT, people say that dropping bodyfat is the only way to see abs and that sit-ups don't mean anything etc., but surely working on developing the muscle will increase definition, am I right? The only time I've ever seen any kind of abs on myself was when I worked very hard on them.

Aye, that's a given. If she was doing 200 situps a day then l-seats should be no problem. Also, overhead squats are mighty.

I want more ripped Abs!!!

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