body

[jtk339]

HI
i have a fairly decent body im not fat and i have good ab muscles but i have like a thin layer of fat which is stopping these muscles showing.
does any one have any tips to help?

[Cicero]

There isn't some secret behind getting a good body. If you consider the following a secret, then I guess its a secret to you: Cardio and Diet. Thats it. Thats all it takes, and thats all it will ever take to get abs. You can do 1000 crunches a day, that will do nothing except tone and build a little, tiny bit of muscle. Just eat a caloric deficit, and do cardio at least 5x a week for 30 minutes. Enough to start sweating and breathing heavy.

But a word of advice, sure, someone does look good with abs. But what really makes them look good is abs and pecs. People often only workout there upper body, arms, abs, pec etc. But whats really important is having a strong upper and lower body. You walk into a gym, and you bench press 200 lb that would be impressive, but if you can only squat 50 lb, all the other gym people will probably smirk and chuckle. A strong upper body and a weak lower body looks bad. If you want respect in the gym, have both a strong upper and lower body. Hell, you would probably get more respect if you had a stronger lower body, than stronger upper body. Just because everyone avoids the lower body. So overall, remember the lower body, remember to do squats for lower, and don't only focus on upper. Cause you'll look really funny/weird with a huge upper with chicken legs/thighs lol

[TigerBoy]

Yep, everything Tacitus said about not getting hung up on abs and 'vanity' muscles is so true and not just for appearances : no point if you can arm curl a car if your legs can't hold you up while you do it :)

Its just a matter of patience and keeping with it. Some people will find it harder than others, but ultimately if you exercise and use up more energy than you put in as food, that energy has to come from somewhere. Eat fewer calories and burn more calories.

Look at your diet and see where you can cut down on fatty food and carbs (eg less cheese, no fries, no chocolate or other snacks etc). This will be harder mentally for some people than exercise but can be more effective.

Whatever your exercise routine is now, add to it. Extending the duration of aerobic sessions (eg jogging) works better than trying to beat speed goals for example. If you have to make a choice, working out fewer sessions for longer each session can also work better because your body will stay a "fat burning" mode for longer, and there is a 'no gain' window where it isn't converting fat to energy at the start of exercise.

[Nellerin]

Some people never get "ripped" muscles to show especially with abs. Therefore do not get your hopes up but to work abs good and get the larger you generally should hit them 1-2 times each week with 2-4 exercises each time.

Cardio is the other part to training to get fit so do that twice a week on non-workout days and do 20-40minutes.

70% of all gains are from diet so start eating really healthy with your macros in check if possible.

[Cicero]

Some people never get "ripped" muscles to show especially with abs. Therefore do not get your hopes up but to work abs good and get the larger you generally should hit them 1-2 times each week with 2-4 exercises each time.

Cardio is the other part to training to get fit so do that twice a week on non-workout days and do 20-40minutes.

70% of all gains are from diet so start eating really healthy with your macros in check if possible.

Abs are all about genetics especially, some people dont have the genetics for abs. No one knows who has or hasnt got the genetics. Usually if your dad or mom did, that can be a helpful sign that you might have the genetics

[TigerBoy]

Yeah I think what you guys are talking about is about the inherited capacity to show ab definition based on the amount of tummy fat you have (more than the ability to create abdominal muscle as such). Everyone potentially could get rid of that fat, but some people will have to work really hard to keep it off, and it may even imply an unhealthily low BMI to do so.