How to get abs

Lower bodyfat and work on posture. Ab workouts don't matter.

Eat more meat and less veg.

It's mostly down to genetics, unfortunately. I'm 37, 5'11" 175, run maybe 10 or so miles a week (on the track, low volume, high-ish intensity) and about 30 minutes of weights and body weight stuff each day. I drink beer, eat what I want and I'm still rocked up. Go figure.

How long have you been doing this? Abs don't magically appear after a few weeks of work.

Here's an expression for you "abs are made in the kitchen not the gym". A good diet will do more for getting abs than a strict workout regiment will. Do you know about how many grams of protein, fat, and carbs you eat per day?

Stop eating

all about body fat wrote:

Lower bodyfat .... Ab workouts don't matter.

People say this all the time, but this is not entirely true. Yes, of course, having low body fat, especially in the mid-section, matters a lot. But, that is no guarantee of having good looking abs. I see plenty of kids down at the pool or beach (yes, I check out lots of kids at the pool and beach. C'mon, I'm feeding the trolls their put-downs on me) who have very low body fat, but they don't have six packs. Why do you think that is? They don't have developed abdominal muscles.

So you need both. Low body fat does not guarantee one ripped, developed abs. Lots of ab/core work doesn't guarantee it either. You need both.

(I don't do dedicated ab exercises, but do lots of body weight exercises that hit the abs hard. Add in a decent amount of running, little to no junk food, and It results in some serious abs. But I do drink a good amount of beer )

You probably already have abs maybe small but some.

The key is LOW BODY FAT if you want to see them clearly.

Low body fat AND posture. Most have poor posture e.g. anterior pelvic tilt which hides the abs. Bodybuilders practice posing for shows because body composition isn't enough

how to get abs wrote:

Vegan college runner looking for advice on how to get a six pack. I do 8-10 mins of core 4-5 days a week but see no progress. Heard that diet can matter a lot. What should I eat/not eat? (I already have almost no refined carbs processed foods or added sugars). I weigh 160 and am 6'2" so not much fat to lose either. When I do core, mostly planks, crunches, bikes, and some leg lift type stuff.

Pls help

Aside from diet, I'd say hanging leg raises and weighted full range of motions moves are a bread and butter (no pun) for developing abs. When I was 14-15, I would crank out obnoxious reps and sets of crunches, bicycle kicks, and planks. Luckily I never created any crazy muscle imbalance between my lower back and abdomen.

Try keeping the reps somewhat lower, no more than 12, toss some weighted decline crunches in, and always have hanging leg raises in the mix.

1.5 cents wrote:

toss some weighted decline crunches in, and always have hanging leg raises in the mix.

Weighted decline crunches are absolutely awful for your spine. Don't risk it.

Do a bunch of axe kicks and crescent kicks... You WILL have great abs. Nothing else comes close.

LIFT heavy and EXPLOSIVELY

Deadlift, power clean will get you RIPPED

I used to do 10-20 mins of core a day. Now I don't do any but lift heavy instead and my abs look better than ever.

Food is important too- I follow a high fat, low carb diet

1. Get a good scale that does body composition; you can't manage what you don't measure. I thought I was lower bf% to start, like most people. Stand on it first thing every single damn day after taking a piss.

2. The only exercises you need, in order of effectiveness: 5x5 squats, 3x5 deadlifts (de facto bread and butter),

- hanging leg raises [true hanging, not roman chair] (5 sets to near failure, 1 minute in between; keeping abs engaged through whole range of motion, no swinging, knees to chest starting and progressing to straight leg, side raises, etc),

- ab wheel roller (watch youtube videos on proper form, tuck hips in),

- planks

3. Eat less; your weight should be lower almost every single day, by any fraction of a pound

Drop the crunches (useless, arguably deleterious), biking (waste of time), pack on the planks and leg lifts