Extremely EXTREMELY annoyed with my abs ! Imagine if you were someone working on ur biceps and u could lift / curl a huge amount of weight and ur arms felt like rocks but whenever u flexed u see nothing . then u workout for 8 months , eating as much as possible , get stronger and ur whole body gets bigger and ur body fat % drops all the way down to 6.7 % but ur arms still stay the same way .
well thats how iam feeling ! Its like my abs just have a mind of their own . Being sticking to my workouts , been consistent , ate well ( maybe not the most amount but still a lot ) and still havent got what i want . sadly , everything else that i dont really care about has improved !! overall muscle , weight , body fat % , strength has increased ten-fold . but still no abs .
but the weirder thing is that my abs have gotten stronger, they’ve gotten much harder. and whenever i do leg raises or any ab excercise my abs really stick out . but the thing is , it sticks out as one whole unit , the separations are virtually non-excistant … like , my abs have improved but its still one thick sheet and not 6 divisions :-/ any explanation for this or advice on what to do ?
cuz its only my abs that are lagging but they are my main target ! another thing i was confused about is this dent that starts to appear next to the the part where my 4th right-side ab should be . well , right about it actually . its a pretty deep dent . what could this be caused due to ?
Soooo, you’ve gained 10-fold strength, and are sub 7% BF? And are unhappy?
Putting aside the obvious exaggerations on your strength and BF, you’re basically whining that you’re big and strong but don’t have abs you’re happy with.
If you were able to add any real mass or cut fat, you’d have no problems carving out a 6-pack, as that’s far easier than adding lean mass. Maybe you need to take a quick reality check and re-evaluate your actual goals and how you’re trying to get there.
[quote]siddhu_r wrote:
any explanation for this or advice on what to do ? [/quote]
I don’t have the time or energy to spend on offering you even more help that’ll go unused, so you get a copy/paste of what I told you in one of your previous “I want abs, but I’m not getting abs, but I really want abs” threads.
"Siddhu, don’t take this the wrong way, but you are a completely typical young kid. Way overfocused on abs, way overthinking your training, totally underemphasizing your diet, and very quick to backtalk/disregard guys who are bigger, stronger, and more experienced than you.
But look, if you’re happy with whatever results you’re getting, great, keep going. Yay you. If you aren’t happy with the results you’re seeing, step back, ditch the ego, and re-read every thread you’ve posted. You’ve gotten tons of advice, and have come up with more than a few excuses, but every single useful piece of info to sort out your diet and training has already been given."
[quote]Apothecary wrote:
Soooo, you’ve gained 10-fold strength, and are sub 7% BF? And are unhappy?
Putting aside the obvious exaggerations on your strength and BF, you’re basically whining that you’re big and strong but don’t have abs you’re happy with.
If you were able to add any real mass or cut fat, you’d have no problems carving out a 6-pack, as that’s far easier than adding lean mass. Maybe you need to take a quick reality check and re-evaluate your actual goals and how you’re trying to get there.[/quote]
body fat from 7.3 dropped to 6.7 - improvement . body weight went from 50-68kg and considering my body fat dropped any my height didnt increase iam pretty sure i can say its mostly , if not all muscle - improvement again . and if you are going to talk about strength , failing to do 1 rep of a 33lb deadlift and then later taking that to 3x10 of 220 pounds , if you’re still trying to say that i’ve got no gains there , then dont bother replying.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
What is your diet like?[/quote]
well i can tell you what i eat on average but i cant really give the proper amounts . well for breakfast a mug of coffee / tea , 3 eggs ( yolk and whites ) , 4 slices of whole meal bread with butter , a bowl of porridge with honey or a bowl of cornflakes and full cream milk and about 3 bananas and 6-10 dates . then for lunch rice ( sometimes red , sometimes not ) , couple of steamed potatoes , steamed carrots , chicken / fish/ mutton , 2 eggs , ash plantain ( not the whole thing , but some of it ) , a bowl of curd with some more rice , 2 bananas or dates .For tea its usually some sort of fruit , usually bananas , peanuts , coffee/tea . For dinner pasta , noodles or roti made with red rice flour , with that its chicken/fish , if its noodles then there will be potatoes and carrots with it , if its roti then curd and some type of pulses , the chicken/ fish is there whether its noodles or pasta or chicken , and for desert a quarter of a full papaya . then a little while before going to bed i drink a mug of fullcream milk .
Be happy with what you have. I have arms exactly like what you were describing. But you know what? I have really good chest and leg development, all three from genetics. Just work on your strengths. Be happy you do not have muscular dystrophy or ALS. It is your build, take the time and enjoy the journey on learning what works for you and what doesn’t. Maybe you will have a kickass deadlift after a few more months. If you keep up the work I bet you can get to 315 in two months. Or maybe something else. Abs arent the end-all-be-all.
[quote]GrizzlyBerg wrote:
I don’t think you know what sub 10% bf looks like. If you don’t have abs at “6.7”% then you were born without your rectus abdominis muscle. [/quote]
Lol exactly this. This was what I was trying to say earlier when he was claiming sub 7% and ten fold strength increases.
I’m sure he’s not FAT considering he’s only like 160, but surely nowhere near 7% and probably not enough lean mass to have any definition.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
What is your diet like?[/quote]
well i can tell you what i eat on average but i cant really give the proper amounts . well for breakfast a mug of coffee / tea , 3 eggs ( yolk and whites ) , 4 slices of whole meal bread with butter , a bowl of porridge with honey or a bowl of cornflakes and full cream milk and about 3 bananas and 6-10 dates . then for lunch rice ( sometimes red , sometimes not ) , couple of steamed potatoes , steamed carrots , chicken / fish/ mutton , 2 eggs , ash plantain ( not the whole thing , but some of it ) , a bowl of curd with some more rice , 2 bananas or dates .For tea its usually some sort of fruit , usually bananas , peanuts , coffee/tea . For dinner pasta , noodles or roti made with red rice flour , with that its chicken/fish , if its noodles then there will be potatoes and carrots with it , if its roti then curd and some type of pulses , the chicken/ fish is there whether its noodles or pasta or chicken , and for desert a quarter of a full papaya . then a little while before going to bed i drink a mug of fullcream milk . [/quote]
The fact you are unable to give me amounts and only an average is already one of the reasons you are having difficulty. When I have abs, my diet is very strict and detailed, and I know what I will be eating everyday. When I don’t do that, I don’t have abs.
From what you have provided above, you are consuming a lot of carbohydrates, to include a lot of sugar. I do not know of many people that are able to have visible abs with that approach. If I were you, I would stick primarily with meats and veggies as my nutritional sources. I know when I did that, I had visible abs.
[quote]GrizzlyBerg wrote:
I don’t think you know what sub 10% bf looks like. If you don’t have abs at “6.7”% then you were born without your rectus abdominis muscle. [/quote]
I’ve got it measured at quite a few places and got the average of them and thats what i got . i didnt just look at pictures and guess a value .
[quote]GrizzlyBerg wrote:
I don’t think you know what sub 10% bf looks like. If you don’t have abs at “6.7”% then you were born without your rectus abdominis muscle. [/quote]
Lol exactly this. This was what I was trying to say earlier when he was claiming sub 7% and ten fold strength increases.
I’m sure he’s not FAT considering he’s only like 160, but surely nowhere near 7% and probably not enough lean mass to have any definition.[/quote]
As i said earlier i got it checked up at quite a few locations and got an average . Its not like i saw a few pics and decided on a value !
[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Be happy with what you have. I have arms exactly like what you were describing. But you know what? I have really good chest and leg development, all three from genetics. Just work on your strengths. Be happy you do not have muscular dystrophy or ALS. It is your build, take the time and enjoy the journey on learning what works for you and what doesn’t. Maybe you will have a kickass deadlift after a few more months. If you keep up the work I bet you can get to 315 in two months. Or maybe something else. Abs arent the end-all-be-all.[/quote]
Hmm right . Atleast someone pointed out something thats not totally discouraging … Thanks . I’ll work on the deadlift . its just that its really annoying that the only reason i got into training was for my abs and thats been the only thing that hasnt progressed . but i get ur point as well . i’ll keep my eyes on the deadlift .
[quote]GrizzlyBerg wrote:
I don’t think you know what sub 10% bf looks like. If you don’t have abs at “6.7”% then you were born without your rectus abdominis muscle. [/quote]
Lol exactly this. This was what I was trying to say earlier when he was claiming sub 7% and ten fold strength increases.
I’m sure he’s not FAT considering he’s only like 160, but surely nowhere near 7% and probably not enough lean mass to have any definition.[/quote]
As i said earlier i got it checked up at quite a few locations and got an average . Its not like i saw a few pics and decided on a value ! [/quote]
Unless they put you in a dunk-tank, those values are useless. Calipers/skin folds, the electro-things, all of that is EXTREMELY unreliable and VERY variable. 2 people doing the same test on the same subject will get very different results. The only use of those tools is to use them yourself to track fluctuations up and down ON YOURSELF.
Ironically, the BEST way to estimate your BF% IS to look at pictures. Since I can’t post the link, go google “Body fat pictures bodybuilding” and look at the first image result. It’s pretty well-circulated.
Still think you’re 6-7%?
We’re not trying to discourage you. We’re trying to give you a dose of REALITY, both in terms of BF and strength. LOOK at your diet and your training instead of focusing so obsessively on a number (in this case, BF%). Especially when that number is so easy to skew or get wrong.
[quote]GrizzlyBerg wrote:
I don’t think you know what sub 10% bf looks like. If you don’t have abs at “6.7”% then you were born without your rectus abdominis muscle. [/quote]
Lol exactly this. This was what I was trying to say earlier when he was claiming sub 7% and ten fold strength increases.
I’m sure he’s not FAT considering he’s only like 160, but surely nowhere near 7% and probably not enough lean mass to have any definition.[/quote]
As i said earlier i got it checked up at quite a few locations and got an average . Its not like i saw a few pics and decided on a value ! [/quote]
Unless they put you in a dunk-tank, those values are useless. Calipers/skin folds, the electro-things, all of that is EXTREMELY unreliable and VERY variable. 2 people doing the same test on the same subject will get very different results. The only use of those tools is to use them yourself to track fluctuations up and down ON YOURSELF.
Ironically, the BEST way to estimate your BF% IS to look at pictures. Since I can’t post the link, go google “Body fat pictures bodybuilding” and look at the first image result. It’s pretty well-circulated.
Still think you’re 6-7%?
We’re not trying to discourage you. We’re trying to give you a dose of REALITY, both in terms of BF and strength. LOOK at your diet and your training instead of focusing so obsessively on a number (in this case, BF%). Especially when that number is so easy to skew or get wrong.[/quote]
Dude, relax. He’s not even used calipers. From his previous posts, it seems he’s been using ONLINE BODYFAT CALCULATORS to arrive at 6-7%!
[quote]Apothecary wrote:
Soooo, you’ve gained 10-fold strength, and are sub 7% BF? And are unhappy?
Putting aside the obvious exaggerations on your strength and BF, you’re basically whining that you’re big and strong but don’t have abs you’re happy with.
If you were able to add any real mass or cut fat, you’d have no problems carving out a 6-pack, as that’s far easier than adding lean mass. Maybe you need to take a quick reality check and re-evaluate your actual goals and how you’re trying to get there.[/quote]
body fat from 7.3 dropped to 6.7 - improvement . body weight went from 50-68kg and considering my body fat dropped any my height didnt increase iam pretty sure i can say its mostly , if not all muscle - improvement again . and if you are going to talk about strength , failing to do 1 rep of a 33lb deadlift and then later taking that to 3x10 of 220 pounds , if you’re still trying to say that i’ve got no gains there , then dont bother replying. [/quote]
You could do at least 1 rep of a 33 lb deadlift. There is no way in hell there is a healthy human being who is over the age of 12 who cannot pick up a 30 pound object off the floor.
You’re not 6.7% bodyfat and not seeing your abs. Doesn’t happen. I don’t care how you measured your bf, it’s wrong. Very few people are close to 7% for long periods of time, especially people who gained almost 40 pounds.
You’ve made improvements, and that’s great. But you’re still very small, relatively weak, and in some ways delusional. Keep lifting, you’re making progress.