Building big abs

**pauli** · Posted On: 1/22/2007 9:19am

don't put distension in his head when he's thinking of hypertrophy.

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 1/22/2007 9:28am

When he says "protrude" I think "distend."

Abs should never "protrude." Possibly he means "cut." Which would be a bodyfat issue.

**Bang!** · Posted On: 1/22/2007 9:34am

Abs can bulge out when they're thick enough -- especially with a bit of extra padding. But bodybuilder abs are the same as anything else on a bodybuilder, i.e. fucking huge and not something that you casually pick up by adding an extra set of crunches to your routine.

**Flash Jackson** · Posted On: 1/22/2007 7:09pm

www.rosstraining.com

Look at Ross. He's huge, and he's functional. Don't be a retard.

**Xeres** · Posted On: 1/25/2007 12:13am

The answer is very simple PPlate - just add weight. Like you, I too used to perform endless repetitions of crunches and leg raises. I had great definition, but my abs were not as prominent as I would have liked. However in just 2 weeks of performing weighted crunches and weighted reverse crunches I gained considerable mass in my rectus abdominus and have been performing weighted exercises for my abs in combination with simple bodyweight exercises ever since. The results have been astounding and the answer was so simple! Another key to attaining those "3-d" abs is having a somewhat low bodyfat percentage, so dont forget the cardio and diet!

**PPlate** · Posted On: 1/25/2007 1:12am

Thanks man, and welcome to bullshido.

Edited to add: How much % bodyweight do you use? E.g. how heavy are you and how much weights do you use during crunches?

**Bang!** · Posted On: 1/25/2007 2:20am

Oy vei. That's like asking what percentage of bodyweight you use to do bicep curls. How about you just use something you can handle?

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 1/25/2007 9:41am

I would advise strong caution in using weights for ab crunches and **** like that. It would not be the first time someone gets a freaking hernia from using too much weight. In particular, I wince everytime I see somebody doing ab crunches on the floor while holding a plate too heavy for him on his neck. :icon_conf

As RM said, how about trying a weight that you can handle? Say, start with a 10lbs plate on your chest, and then move to two 10lbs plate, then a 25lbs, and so on. This is another, safer IMO, way to add resistance and/or dificulty to your abs workout:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...ingCrunch.html

Moreover, ditch the leg raises and plain vanilla ab crunches. This is how you build abs:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...nis/WtVUp.html

and surprisingly with these:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...rontSquat.html

Plus, a barbell military press, with one leg back and one leg forward (as at the end of a clean and jerk) with a heavy load that allows you no more than 4 reps will blast the **** out of everything between your diaphragm and you hips.

On another note, I don't understand why you want a large abdominal section (the barrel gut). I hate that ****. Back in college, I ended up having one of those, and I've been trying to get rid of that hideous **** ever since. That thing is not even functional, and horrendously impossible to get rid of.

Once you get a barrel gut, you need to have a very, very large upper body (chest, shoulders, traps, back), and keep a constant low body fat, all the time.

Otherwise, it makes you look like a pencilneck with a freaking beer gut at best, or a large fat ass at worse, and all that hard-work you put on getting symmetry and definition on the rest of your body goes out of the window.

What's the point of having massive "barrel" abs if they look like a lardy beer gut with the slightest increase in body fat????? I'd rather work on having a strong, solid and narrow midsection. Even with moderate body fat it still looks good, be it with a toned or massive upper body... IMO.