Started one at beginning of June, started to get tough now.

Will my 6 pack just appear on day 30 as not really noticed much difference yet!

I’m on day 17. Things are beginning to tighten up, but I need to eat less to get rid of the subcutaneous fat on top.

Will my 6 pack just appear on day 30 as not really noticed much difference yet!

That’s because the Ab challenge does nothing to reduce the layer of fat hiding your abs…

As above – you need low body fat before defined abs will show, and you can’t target belly fat alone. But working on core will tighten it up and so you should be slimmer at waist to some degree, and strong core is always good, just watch your back.

I’ve been on my ab programme* for 2 months now, and can definitely feel the difference, but as above need to lose more weight before I have a 6 pack.

* in my case otherwise know as kayak training

My wife has a six pack, never done a sit up in her life, or any strenuouse exercise for that matter.

They are nonsense. I looked at it, sit ups/crunches/plank and leg raises aren’t the most effective ab exercises….and doing stupid amounts of them seems crazy.

Go on then, what are the most effective stomach muscle exercises?

Swallowing Brazil nuts whole, then “crunching” to break ’em open. Passing the shell fragments afterwards can smart a bit though…

Abs are made in the kitchen.

You’ll probably need BF% below 10% before you see them defined.

I did a pretty significant amount of training on that area for a few months and whilst I could feel a good change, I couldn’t get BF below 12-13 comfortably, so never got that definition

I’m pretty slim anyway, but getting down to those levels, and staying there, is serious work.

As for getting them in 30 days? The only way that will happen is if you pick up some of body fat eating disease whilst you’re training 🙂

oh dear. you will end up with thoracic kyphosis. best abs exercise ? IMO kneeling on a swiss ball.

Go on then, what are the most effective stomach muscle exercises?

personally i think the ab roller wheel thingamejig, and slow leg raises work the abs best. you know, lay on the floor, bring your legs up straight until your lower back starts lifting, and then slowly lower them over about 10 secs or so.

but as has been mentioned a few times already, you need to drop bodyfat to see them.

It’s all a bit silly. I’ve done load of ab exercises, and the only thing that makes my stomach flatter is losing weight, because I lose fat from around my organs so there is less in there.

Sit ups / crunches are no longer recommended*. Plenty of other ways to target Abs such as Planking etc.

*At the center is research showing that repeated spinal flexion using cadaveric porcine spines resulted in herniated discs. This in vitro research seems to indicate that lumbar flexion is a potent herniating mechanism, and anti-crunch proponents have extrapolated from the data that humans possess a limited number of flexion cycles throughout their lifetimes.

As others have pointed out, it’s not the getting of abs that is difficult, it’s shifting the huge beer belly that’s covering them.

Out of interest; could one not just do a load of crunches and then hoover off all the belly fat in a liposuction clinic? Seems like the perfect solution for the cake-eating/body conscious gent.

Being Skinny my whole life i have always had abs, the biggest misconception is that people think they can target just there abs. as said its the weight around that need to be lost first unfortunately.

these 30day things are good, but i would say general exercise is better.

Sounds about right as I have a got small layer around the middle! My BF is about 15%

I’m on Day29 of a 42-day thingy. Definitely feel tighter and my trousers are looser round the waist. As above, to see a six-pack I will need to loose a bunch of body fat too.

An interesting side effect is that i seem to walk and sit “taller” since starting the programme…

Will my 6 pack just appear on day 30

No.

what are the most effective stomach muscle exercises

Almost anything that involves balance and movement at the same time.

Preferably whilst supporting a crap load of weight.

Although if the question is actually “how do I get a six pack”, the answer is diet.

Well of course that depends whether you want a 6 pack, or just a flat(ter) stomach. I’m still officially overweight (OK, so I’ve put on quite a lot of muscle since I’ve been trying to “lose weight” and BMI doesn’t work too well for me), yet despite not having a visible 6 pack there’s no beer belly any more. You’d have to get far lower levels of bodyfat to manage that without working on your abs.

FWIW I do (inclined) sit ups amongst other ab exercises as part of my weights session, which I’m currently doing once a week – mainly spending my time sitting in a kayak which works them with lower load, longer duration.

I believe bf% of around 10% male 14%female or lower are needed for a visible 6 pack, in my (limited) experience mtb does plenty of core work any how – as does standing on one leg with your eyes closed – and situps/crunches give me a bad lower back when done in the quantities they suggest, rather timed ones were vastly better, 5 seconds of continuous movement to make it from down to up and vice versa then hold for five seconds before repeating and never touching your back to the floor. Equally they feel more masochistic but sound rubbish when you’re pleased with ten and are probably really bad for you.

How is body fat measured?

situps/crunches give me a bad lower back when done in the quantities they suggest,

hence they’re no longer recommended as an exercise…

Try Planking instead.

This is how the world’s top Olympic lifters develop their core:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH2kwYiVgPU[/video]

here’s a basic weighted Plank:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82nqlKMePE[/video]

Isn’t it al about avoiding the BAD food and eating more of the GOOD Food? Stuff like cranberries for example, and beetroot. I’m sure I read somewhere once that they release enzymes which feed specifically on abdominal fat leading to targeted definition in that area. My mate, who is something in sports science, sort of confirms that.

Having eaten raw cranberries I think I’ll take my chances with the situps.

Having eaten raw cranberries I think I’ll take my chances with the situps.

You could always try beetroot?

aracer – Member
Go on then, what are the most effective stomach muscle exercises?

Years of kayaking followed by singlespeeding kept me in a 6 pack until I hit 60 and got a belly, but anytime I let the weight drop off I still have one.