six packs or 8 packs

[harvo]

Just a quick question how long did it take you guys and girls to get six or 8 packs I'm curious did many of you start off with them or have most of you built them I never believe the people who say it takes six weeks or 7 days as I have been going at it for a year and dropped my body fat to 7.6 percent and i have the top 4 showing now and I'm just starting to see the outline of the bottom two so come on peeps how long as it took you

[Deviation]

8 pack?
I'm personally rockin a mini keg myself. Solid, rounded abs. ;) Once I get a bit more muscle, I plan to cut some. A six pack would be great, but I'd be happy with some quality muscle mass myself.

[harvo]

i mean is it that important to get that stomach that u can grate cheese on ha ha what is the big deal with the six pack i mean yeah they look great and if i had one id be constantly topless ha ha but they r so hard work to get i mean you have to stick to a diet do cardio do sit ups and crunches nearly every day plus do weighted crunches ur constently thinking to ur self whern will i get one and at the same time your loosing strength what are your stats then Deviation

[Deviation]

The short answer is, if its important to you then yes its important.

I was going to link to some nice vids on YouTube but the guy who did them I guess just got his account axed. I just looked at them yesterday. Odd.

[mrwright]

I've actually got a 8pac... it's just under an inch or 2 of erm, "protection"

youtube "8 minute abs" a intense workout you can do for 8 minutes a day to work your abs to death!

[Deviation]

I missed the part about stats. 5'11", 188lbs, 22% BF. Thats according to my scale which I believe uses BMI. May or may not be close. I really need to get a real measurement. Started at 197lbs and 29% BF.

Harvo, you need to add some punctuation every now and then. That's one massive run on sentence. :p

[harvo]

ha ha i do that 8 min ab thing most days plus other crunches wen im bored my abs are really hard but i still cant see them fully,but i have more definition now than i ever had how often do u guys work ur abs and cheers for advice think i need to go back to school ha ha.

[harvo]

so do u have to loose body fat to bulk up

[Deviation]

Well for bulking, I've seen many people skip abs and especially cardio. My previous routine I was doing abs and cardio 3 times a week on off days. My current routine I'm doing abs and cardio once a week (today actually). 95% of my routine is compound lifts so I do hit the core indirectly.

You seem like a lean guy from your pic. How often you do abs is really up to you. I will likely add more abs to my routine once I test it for another week.

[Deviation]

so do u have to loose body fat to bulk up

No. In fact you will likely gain some bulking. Not bad as long as you pay attention to your diet.

[harvo]

you see i want that athletic look not the huge look u know like wolverine or ryan renolds. How much do u dead lift and squat i started doing rowing after my work outs for 20 mins on the highest level but i found i lost a bit of strength

[mrwright]

If your bulking up it's gonna be REALLY hard to get a decent 6/8 pack because your adding weight to bulk, and to show off your abs you need to lose weight/bodyfat

If i was you i'd focus on getting to the size you want first without worrying about definition, then once your happy with your size, change your workout, diet etc and then focus on getting your body fat down

[Deviation]

mrwright is correct. I'd worry about getting some mass then go back to cutting.

[harvo]

That sounds like a good idea but I was once 13 stone but I was fat now I'm just over 10 but if I eat loads and put on weight ill gain fat on my belly and I still have fat left so is it not best to get rid of the fat first on my stomach then start bulging up

[mrwright]

That sounds like a good idea but I was once 13 stone but I was fat now I'm just over 10 but if I eat loads and put on weight ill gain fat on my belly and I still have fat left so is it not best to get rid of the fat first on my stomach then start bulging up

you answered yourself there, if your eat loads to bulk up your gain some fat on your belly, so if you get rid of the fat there first, you'll just put it straight back on so all the time taken to lose it would pretty much be a waste just make sure you focus on getting good foods into your diet while bulking as that will help stop useless fat build up, so no/very few fatty foods and just lean meat etc

[harvo]

Are blackpuddings good for u I have 2 of them with eggs for dinner

[Deviation]

You can't just eat everything in sight. You need to track what you're eating. Until Jefit comes out with calorie tracking, you can use my fitness pal.
No idea what black pudding is. I think we're being over run by red coats....

[mrwright]

RULE BRITANNIA! haha
My fitness pal is good, can scan most foods you have with the barcode scanner and will tell you everything in them, shows you what you still need etc
But for some reason "strength exercises" don't take any calories or anything

[Deviation]

But for some reason "strength exercises" don't take any calories or anything
They are weak on exercises period. Use a HRM to get an accurate number and plug it in. Or do as I do and ignore it.

[harvo]

What's a hrm

[Robertrogo]

I had a six pack at one point but that has gone away ahah, I still have the outlines when I lift my shirt up around the obliques area and then that pelvic V definition. It took me seriously around 2-4 months of intense cardio/ab workouts to get to the point I was at because of the fast weight loss I experienced, my body had excess skin so it took a decent time to get rid of but I took protein, ate lean meats, less carbs, more fruits and did around 30 minutes to 1 hour of cardio along with a ridiculous amount of ab workouts.

Right now I would say I got the top two abs below my pecs in terms of definition but the rest has gone away, have to get back into the groove of ab workouts.... hate them though haha

[Deviation]

What's a hrm

Heart Rate Monitor

[harvo]

So are we sayin u can't get big without loosing ur abs ha ha I mean is it better to take ur top off or just wear short sleeves and get bigger arms ha ha

[Deviation]

So are we sayin u can't get big without loosing ur abs ha ha I mean is it better to take ur top off or just wear short sleeves and get bigger arms ha ha

Well if you take your top off and have washboard abs but toothpick arms, I'm pretty sure the ladies will be looking at you....and laughing. ;)

[Deviation]

These are the guys I was going to link to: http://www.youtube.com/user/sixpackshortcuts They are selling a program, but their YouTube videos are actually pretty good. Make sure you check out their M100's.

[Robertrogo]

Well if you take your top off and have washboard abs but toothpick arms, I'm pretty sure the ladies will be looking at you....and laughing. ;)

Hahah but sometimes if you have big arms and skinny body then ladies will think you are overcompensating for something, it is always a lose lose situation with women no matter what.... haha

[Deviation]

Yeah I don't even pretend to understand them. I've been with my wife for ~14 years and I still don't understand...

[martincoco]

Learning for your thoughts Deviation.. :cool:

[Deviation]

Learning for your thoughts Deviation.. :cool:
Sweet. I'm getting a cult following.

[Robertrogo]

Sweet. I'm getting a cult following.

Pretty much, gotta follow the one's with the advice and knowledge :P

The one thing I don't understand is that when you do have a six pack or starting to get one, your girlfriend loves it but then tells you she loves you the way you look, so that when your six pack goes away, she starts oogling celebrities with six packs and then you tell her that you would get a six pack again but then she is like I love you to the way you are and you don't need one, but still oogles the celebrities.... it is just like do you want me to have a six pack or want me to have to cancel the cable and internet so you can't look at them and make me extremely confused.

I just don't understand, us men are willing to put in the effort to get a six pack but when you say you love us the way we are and then eye up other men with six packs, what is the point?! We are getting mind raped

[Deviation]

Kinda like when you say "oh no honey you look great the way you are" while staring at hot female celebs. I got "the look" when I was reading Samantha Baker's interview on Muscle & Strength -> http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/cheerleader-model-figure-competitor-samantha-baker-interview.html Not bad looking gal, but I was actually reading the interview..LOL

[Robertrogo]

Good golly miss molly.... well I try not to do that with my girlfriend as I really do love her the way she is but damn... she is pretty attractive haha, tried my best to read through that interview but something else was grasping my attention, good day to be a camera man thats for sure ;)

[Deviation]

well I try not to do that with my girlfriend as I really do love her the way she is but damn...

After 14 years, my wife knows I look at other women. I think I'm being sly but in reality she's just not telling me she caught me. In the end, I'm with her and I'm not going anywhere. (whether she likes it or not!)

[Aedan]

I have a some tips for those people who really want to grow your muscles very rapidly. For six packs and eight packs leg lifts, the plank, and the crunch is the basic and most important exercises.

[mrwright]

Or you could get it "sculpted"
That way you can be as fat as you want and still have a 6/8-pac ;)

[50cal]

If you actually look around, a suprising number of people have six packs...
i have one, but no matter what i do i cant see the bottom two abs!! but getting a six pack requires a mixture of bulking and cardio, unless you have a naturally high metabolism in which case all you need to do is bulk. But some of the videos on youtube are just terrible, people say that a certain type of sit up will get you a six pack a lot quicker than other exersizes. Maybe it is just me, but i have found that using about 5/6 different ab exersizes gives me the best results, instead of using 1 type of sit up.

[MasterCATZ]

http://www.free-ab-workout.com/images/ripped-abs-15.jpg

[jonathan2340]

I just like this information. Keep it up.

[OptikaNET]

I have a some tips for those people who really want to grow your muscles very rapidly. For six packs and eight packs leg lifts, the plank, and the crunch is the basic and most important exercises.

Personal Trainer Nashville (http://ftnashville.com/personal-trainer-nashville-lose-weight-and-tone-your-body)

The plank/bridge will give you a flat stomach but it won't give you a six-pack. This is because it works the Transversus muscle which is a flat sheet of muscle that lies underneath the abdominals, whereas the other two exercises you mention work the Rectus Abdominis muscles which are those people refer to as the "Six pack".

Everybody should do some plank type exercises, but it is incorrect to say it will improve the shape of the abdominals (although it will improve the shape of the abdomen!)

Kind Regards
Dave

[amcredle]

I know im late to the convo. I think a lot has to do with genetics also. I know most of my life i sported 8 pack. and people would always ask me what i did. i was like nothing. i truley never worked my abs. however i was small guy to. very low body fat. Iv been bulking so my abs arent as defined right now but i sure once i cut and do more cardio my abs will come thru with no problem. i know people who seem to work out forever and cant get the stomach they want. its kinda strange how that works.

anyway you can do all the planks and crunches you want. if you dont get your body fat down you will never see you abs

[OptikaNET]

anyway you can do all the planks and crunches you want. if you dont get your body fat down you will never see you abs

Amen to that!

Kind Regards
Dave

[decu68]

100% correct.

[420_gymRat]

Hahah but sometimes if you have big arms and skinny body then ladies will think you are overcompensating for something, it is always a lose lose situation with women no matter what.... haha

Woman r from venus! Of course it's a lose lose situation with women.

[tophalf]

i mean is it that important to get that stomach that u can grate cheese on ha ha what is the big deal with the six pack i mean yeah they look great and if i had one id be constantly topless ha ha but they r so hard work to get i mean you have to stick to a diet do cardio do sit ups and crunches nearly every day plus do weighted crunches ur constently thinking to ur self whern will i get one and at the same time your loosing strength what are your stats then Deviation

You do not have to work abs every day, this is way too much. The abs are just muscles so you should train them as such. Mine are done once every 8 days just like the rest of my body parts. The first time I brought my abs through was for my first competition and it took about 6 weeks. Having a set of abs that show is about bodyfat percentage more than anything.
When you see a lot of six packs in pictures they look like they do as the person showing them knows how to pose them also, being able to draw the centre line of your stomach in while tensing your abs makes them stand out more. They look a lot different when standing relaxed.

[OptikaNET]

That... and many bodybuilding magazines use Photoshop a lot...

Kind Regards
Dave

[tophalf]

That... and many bodybuilding magazines use Photoshop a lot...

Kind Regards
Dave

True, sometimes just a little too "perfect"!

[Gym-Wolf]

Anatomically, you might not even have the cuts or muscle separation in the lower Abs. Because at 7.6% you would see them. I got down to 7% and I had a 7 pack, that last one was just smooth no separation at all! Not everyone is going to have perfectly squared Abs.
So I think a strong 4 pack with the next 2 peaking out is the best you're gonna get. But you've done GREAT to get that!
Shift your focus now on building up the other muscles and maintain the Abs you got.