Six pack abs

[cowboys1]

Hey! I am working on getting a six pack abs. What exercises/workouts should I do to help out? Also, how long does it take to get a six pack?

[StoppingTime]

Puberty for Boys :arrow: Fitness. You'll find better answers here.

[believable]

Look up sit-up drills. Do at least three sets a day. That's the best way to get a six pack IMO.

[Nellerin]

Work abs no more than 3-4 times each week.

Do a combination of sit-ups, crunches, knee raises, and planks for sets of about 20-30 on each of the exercises..

Lastly, when going into the motion such as crunching on a crunch, do the first part fast and lower yourself down slower to get the best contraction of the muscles.

[TigerBoy]

Work abs no more than 3-4 times each week.

Do a combination of sit-ups, crunches, knee raises, and planks for sets of about 20-30 on each of the exercises..

Lastly, when going into the motion such as crunching on a crunch, do the first part fast and lower yourself down slower to get the best contraction of the muscles.

^This and maybe diet and cardio work. Abs will only show up if you have a lean tummy, which means getting your body fat (BMI) down, which means reducing your intake of fatty food and excess carbs, and stimulating your metabolism to burn fat reserves through exercise.

You could try the routine below if you wanted, but don't be surprised if you aren't able to complete it at first. Just keep going and do what you can, and give yourself a couple of rest days in between. These types of ab exercises are generally safe to repeat 'until failure' as long as you give your body a chance to heal up and make the gains.

vkKCVCZe474

[Nellerin]

^This and maybe diet and cardio work. Abs will only show up if you have a lean tummy, which means getting your body fat (BMI) down, which means reducing your intake of fatty food and excess carbs, and stimulating your metabolism to burn fat reserves through exercise.

You could try the routine below if you wanted, but don't be surprised if you aren't able to complete it at first. Just keep going and do what you can, and give yourself a couple of rest days in between. These types of ab exercises are generally safe to repeat 'until failure' as long as you give your body a chance to heal up and make the gains.

vkKCVCZe474

Looks like a good routine. But like you said, while hard work and time will eventually get you the end result of a six-pack, it could take a very long time as a lot of factors come into play.

Not to mention if your genetics aren't prime for a six-pack then you might actually only ever be able to get a visible 4-pack that is not as "impressive."

I always look at the "trying to get a six-pack goals" as a little silly because overall if you have a six-pack and are a skinny/weak kid, is the six pack really impressive?

I think having a strong, fit and moderately toned body (attained through weight lifting) is in all likelihood a better option for most teens.

[Jack1245]

Bench press, running/jogging, sit-ups

[Ute Man]

It will take a long time. Just continue to push yourself. Remember it won't work unless you put in the effort.

[Backflipboy]

I have been a gymnast for a number of years until I broke both of my ankles a month ago. Throughout my time as a gymnast I never had a six pack, yet now that I don't do it anymore I almost have one. Since my accident I have been doing dish holds for three minutes every day and eating significantly less, and in a few weeks I have gone from a flat stomach to having visible abs!

What I am doing is cutting down on food and doing dish holds and v-sits five days in the week. If you're going to follow what I am doing then do three minutes dish hold and fifty v-sits. In a few more weeks it is predicted that I will have a lovely set of six. Good luck to you!

[TigerBoy]

I have been a gymnast for a number of years until I broke both of my ankles a month ago. Throughout my time as a gymnast I never had a six pack, yet now that I don't do it anymore I almost have one. Since my accident I have been doing dish holds for three minutes every day and eating significantly less, and in a few weeks I have gone from a flat stomach to having visible abs!

What I am doing is cutting down on food and doing dish holds and v-sits five days in the week. If you're going to follow what I am doing then do three minutes dish hold and fifty v-sits. In a few more weeks it is predicted that I will have a lovely set of six. Good luck to you!

Excellent post. I'd never heard of the dish hold so I've looked 'em up for anyone else:

http://www.fitness-training-at-home.com/image-files/corepikeups1.jpg (http://www.crossfitignitesydney.com.au/tag/dish-hold)
The dish hold is a difficult posture to hold. To get the most from it, think about doing two things. Firstly, squeeze your lower back into the floor (preferably on the hard floor-it’s much easier to do it well) by rolling the front of your hips up towards your ribs. Second, pull your ribs down towards your hips like you’re trying to do the world’s best ab crunch. This should bring the shoulders and tops of the shoulderblades off the ground. Point your toes, keep your heels very tightly squeezed together, and raise your feet about 15cm off the ground (you should look kinda like a dish at this point).


I'll add that in to my front and side planking, thanks for sharing that one.

[BrainDamage]

Swimming is a really good sport, as for time it really depends on how fit overweight underweight diet and how much you want/need it...

[Backflipboy]

Excellent post. I'd never heard of the dish hold so I've looked 'em up for anyone else:

image (http://www.crossfitignitesydney.com.au/tag/dish-hold)


I'll add that in to my front and side planking, thanks for sharing that one.

I'm glad you appreciated my post - I will add that a dish hold was an exercise that I used to do in gymnastics as "dish" is one of the nine standard shapes within gymnastics. Whilst it was an exercise I did twice a week I clearly gained no benefit from it, however I have discovered that focusing greatly upon one muscle for an extended period of time will give you the results that you want.

I used to have a slight belly (I was muscular but carried a little extra on my stomach) and now it is completely gone thanks to my new routine. As a tumbler in gymnastics my legs were the strongest areas of my body and so I am continuing to work on them as well as my arms.

[lilmonkey317]

if you are overweight then doing alot of cardio (running) helps burn fat. mixing that with situps will help create muscle. i have had abs for about 4 years now. i am naturally thin so it took me about 1 year to build abs

[Cicero]

Look up sit-up drills. Do at least three sets a day. That's the best way to get a six pack IMO.

Wrong. It's mainly diet and exercise.

[Aceso]

Wrong. It's mainly diet and exercise.

^^^ This. Very much so diet, as doing 100 crunches a day will not do much without a clean food intake.
If you want to lift weights, believe it or not squats and deadlifts are very good for the middle section as they require a lot of stability from your core, thus targeting the abdominals as well as legs.
Be very sure to work out your whole core and middlesection, the last thing you want it beautiful abdominals but no chest or a very weak back, there is no point painting half a picture :) Most exercises do work all areas of the core though but be sure to work out your internal and external obliques to get that tapered look, transverse abdominals for a strong adonis belt and of course, the rectus abdominis, which are the muscles for the 'six pack' everyone wants. You should be able to feel each of these muscles working in most exercises (I find bicycle crunches and planks fairly effective, though I mostly stick to using heavy weights and find I don't need to work the core as most of my lifts target that area anyway) but to get back to the point, check out bodybuilding.com for exercises that work well, there are hundreds of variations. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/13/muscle/abdominals

[swaggerman84]

Actually the best which is the way I did it look up on google or youtube six pack abs
And the will give different exercises and pick the ones you can do and do each one
Until you can't do it now and consistenly do it according to your body type like for
I don't have to do my exercises 3-4 times a week I do whenever I feel like but yea