Working out - Getting started.... abs?

timeout496

Hey, I've yet to properly commint myself to a workout programme. I've spent hundreds of euros on equipment, I've a bench, a standard dumbell set, a standard barbell set, olympic dumbells, a 7ft olympic barbell, a powerline power rack and an abking pro. I'm going to start next monday following the guide from the book Iron Man's Home gym handbook. I'm 6ft and about 11 and a half/12 stone. The Ab King pro, I think I wasted my money on this because the instructions are ****, I was doing about 480 situps at one point. The bendch IO have is a dumbell bench so I could use it for my abs. What is the best way to get started on my abs? I have absolutley and never have had any abs, just blubber around my stomach, it's the only place I have fat.. how can i get started on my abs? please give it to me like i'm a 6 year old

dudara

ok, you're probably going to hear this a lot, but if you want to see your abs, then you need to lose the blubber. This means cardio exercise. Doing abs exercises will make them stronger but they will not be visible if there's blubber.

BrianD3

All that great equipment and the first thing you're talking about doing is ab isolation work? Forget the abs for the moment. Do bench press, squat and deadlift. Be very careful with form and don't be a macho man - start off very very light and build up slowly. You can add loads of other compound exercises later, you can also add ab work and cardio if required. You may not even need to do any specific ab work - many of the "big" exercises automatically utilise the abs for stabilisation. When you gain more muscle mass you'll raise your BMR. You'll burn more calories at rest and you may start to see the fat on your belly disappearing. You can also do cardio and watch what you eat. Anyhow, have fun!

timeout496

sounds good guys, thanks for the input, i'll start the iron man's home gym handbook 'break in - efficeincy of effort routine' next monday, so should i not be doing any ab exercise? cardio, i was trying to go for a run everyday a few months back - i was knackered, maybe i was pushing myself too far. how many times a week should i be running? and how far/long?

kstanl

Bit of advice - a good time to do your abs is right after your cardio. It's kind of helps to spot reduce the fat (even though true spot-reduction isn't REALLY possible)... it's certainly helped tighten up the skin on my mid-section anyway.

timeout496

how much cardio man? a run down the canal 3 times a week?