I am just wondering why a lot of people advocate the small volume of ab workouts today as opposed to the 70's era. I have heard a lot of reasons why you shouldn't train like Arnold and Frank Zane for your abs (such as they will make your midsection bulkier), but man it seemed to work for them. Also compared to todays bodybuilders who train abs completely different I think that the old school guys have one hell of a better looking waist. What are some of your guys opinions on this?
Want better looking abs… lose more bodyfat.
Once you do the Big Compounds abs more or less take care of themselves really
[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
I am just wondering why a lot of people advocate the small volume of ab workouts today as opposed to the 70’s era. I have heard a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t train like Arnold and Frank Zane for your abs (such as they will make your midsection bulkier), but man it seemed to work for them. Also compared to todays bodybuilders who train abs completely different I think that the old school guys have one hell of a better looking waist. What are some of your guys opinions on this?[/quote]
I think a bodybuilders waist is largely dependent on his genetics. Alot of current bodybuilders have waist that resemble the older era’s smaller waists. Look for a pic of Dennis Wolf.
I like to mix it up. I perfer high volume with low weight (often just bodyweight), but 3-4 times a month I will go low volume, heavy weight. Then 2 months later I will switch and do more low volume work.
Arnold was a freak. He trained redicilious amounts that the normal gym rat would easily overtrain. All he did was train, eat, train, fuck, sleep. So you gotta take Arnolds training with a grain of salt
I know that Arnold was genetically elite(also used steroids), but so are all pro bodybuilders. I also know that know one will have good abs if they are covered with fat. My question was what do most of you think about the 2 different shools of thought.
[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
I know that Arnold was genetically elite(also used steroids), but so are all pro bodybuilders. [/quote]
Are genetically elite? Do you use steroids? Are you a pro bodybuilder? Then don’t train like one
Train abs with the same volume you train other small bodyparts. The abs are still a muscle. They recover easier and faster so you can use higher frequency…
But remember your abs get worked with other exercises as well.
Like I said before switch it up. Low and high volume are both ok. You will get more blocky if you go super heavy. Do 10x3 crunches with 100lbs dumbell 3 times a week for 3 months will make your waist bigger from your abs growing. You need to find the balance of using weights to “develop” peaks and when to lower the weight and volume to avoid blockiness