[quote]FightingScott wrote:
I’m gonna say this guy isn’t a troll.
May smell a bit like one, but I understand where he’s coming from.
Look, it doesn’t matter what your abs look like unflexed and in the shadows. You either have a six pack or you don’t.
I’m pretty sure everyone with abs has thought this to themselves at one time or another.
Just know, that whenever you see a model or bodybuilder with abs, those pictures have been taken with perfect lighting, taken while they were flexing, and most likely photoshopped and edited to some degree.
The best thing you can do to make your abs look impressive even when you’re relaxed is to get thicker, harder abs by doing weighted crunches, weighted machine crunches, russian twists, weighted hanging leg raises, and other difficult abdominal exercises with heavy weight. [/quote]
Or build size all over so that your abs are not your only body part worth looking at.
You don’t gain much muscle mass if abs are your primary concern.
Or build size all over so that your abs are not your only body part worth looking at.
You don’t gain much muscle mass if abs are your primary concern.[/quote]
That’s not addressing the problem.
There’s no doubt that getting a big chest, thick lats, tree=trunk legs, and wide delts will provide a better frame for a good set of abs, but you can’t just totally ignore abs.
Ok, maybe some people build awesome, lean, powerful physiques without training abs. Jason Wojo and Johnnie Jackson probably haven’t done a set of abs in the last 5 years.
But it’s really not that helpful to answer every single question on this forum with Squats and Deadlifts (or Hack Squats and T-Bar rows - whatever it is you do)
Besides, this kid says he’s interested in competing. If you’re gonna be making heavy squat attempts and you want your abs to look firmer while relaxed, then direct abdominal work sounds like a good idea to me.
And if you haven’t noticed, there are plenty of pros who have big, impressive physiques and shitty midsections. Yeah, I understand that this kid isn’t a pro bodybuilder but my point is that gaining weight is not the answer to every single physique problem.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Yeah, I understand that this kid isn’t a pro bodybuilder but my point is that gaining weight is not the answer to every single physique problem. [/quote]
No, but it’s the answer to every not boring physique problem.
[quote]conorh wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
Yeah, I understand that this kid isn’t a pro bodybuilder but my point is that gaining weight is not the answer to every single physique problem.
No, but it’s the answer to every not boring physique problem.[/quote]
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
conorh wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
Yeah, I understand that this kid isn’t a pro bodybuilder but my point is that gaining weight is not the answer to every single physique problem.
No, but it’s the answer to every not boring physique problem.
oooo! Sweet comeback![/quote]
Yeah, I don’t like to brag, but junior highers don’t step to me, because I’d totally burn them.
[quote]conorh wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
conorh wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
Yeah, I understand that this kid isn’t a pro bodybuilder but my point is that gaining weight is not the answer to every single physique problem.
No, but it’s the answer to every not boring physique problem.
oooo! Sweet comeback!
Yeah, I don’t like to brag, but junior highers don’t step to me, because I’d totally burn them.[/quote]
I’m kind of surprised at the responses here. At 5’8" and 140 lbs, he’s very light. The reason his abs smooth at so dramatically when they’re not flexed is 100% because they are not developed to the same degree that they would be if they had to stabilize a 220lb frame all day long.
The right answer is to work on putting on 10-15 dry, lean lbs over the next 6 months (very doable at that age) Lean down if you feel it necessary, and you’ll have abs that are much more likely to “pop” even when relaxed.
Anytime I see some 14 or 15 year old kid flexing his abs in the mirror (hope that everyone’s watching!), all I can think is… that’s what you’re supposed to look like if you’re not fat. Usually there’s no muscle anywhere else, and it makes me crazy that the obsession with their midsections is what keeeps most of them from putting on any appreciable muscle elsewhere.
[quote]Jeffe wrote:
I’m kind of surprised at the responses here. At 5’8" and 140 lbs, he’s very light. The reason his abs smooth at so dramatically when they’re not flexed is 100% because they are not developed to the same degree that they would be if they had to stabilize a 220lb frame all day long.
The right answer is to work on putting on 10-15 dry, lean lbs over the next 6 months (very doable at that age) Lean down if you feel it necessary, and you’ll have abs that are much more likely to “pop” even when relaxed. [/quote]
True, but if a guy weighing 220 had this same problem, then heavy direct abdominal training would be the solution.
I don’t really see the harm in telling someone they need to start training their abs heavy (JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE). If he says he’s squatting, pulling, and benching heavy then he’s on the right path.
Yeah, I don’t like to brag, but junior highers don’t step to me, because I’d totally burn them.[/quote]
I can just see Kelso from that 70’s show saying this.
OP - Yeah, train your abs. But think of this. There are guys out there with 100 lbs more muscle than you at the same height. These guys will often look terrible in the off season (lee priest a while back) or kinda pudgy (peter putnam or most others). Then when they spend 12 weeks cutting down to 4% bf, they do the photoshoots. It will take years to build muscle and weeks to loose fat.
[quote]Artem wrote:
Rockscar wrote:
KratosX91 wrote:
No where in there did I say I didnt want bigger arms and chest Rockscar I just had a question about my abs.
Anyone focused on abs will fail at true bodybuilding so don’t worry about it for now. Abs are a product of bodyfat %. Get the size and then the abs can be uncovered pretty easily.
Is the reason that pro bodybuilders are always so lean because they have so much muscle mass and it burns a ton of calories just to maintain? Maybe I’ve just never seen pics of bodybuilders during off season bulking cycles, but whenever I see a pro, he has abs and veins popping out everywhere.
I’m 15 and just getting started too. I’d love some abs, but whatever… I’m just eating a lot of clean protein and veggies, training hard, and trying to make muscle grow.
I’m probably only a few % from a 6 pack since I can see abs if I pull down my skin a bit or lean back or something, but I have that annoying layer of fat covering the lower abs. It’s annoying too because it’s not even all fat, but looks like it is. It’s only a thing layer of fat, but looks like it bulges out more since it’s covering abs.
So yea… how are pros always so lean while eating enough to maintain and gain, I’m guessing, muscle?[/quote]
wow… Who revived this one? This is an old ass post. “clean protein and veggies”… haha fuck that.
I hope that kid realised that a 140 pound six pack is going to be tiny anyway. While six packs are revealed from diet there still needs to be a fair amount of muscle there for it to look impressive. That kid would have shitty abs at any bf.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
And if you haven’t noticed, there are plenty of pros who have big, impressive physiques and shitty midsections.
Is it likely that the reason is that these pros forgot to do ab work?[/quote]
What equals a “shitty” midsection?
Dexter Jackson does NO direct ab work at all. NONE.
