There's a saying that abs are made in the kitchen, so you sound like you're on the right track. 100% whole grain carbs are fine for you to eat (some people get so obsessed with low carb lol). You have to lose body fat to make your abs really show. But so you don't become a skinny, stringy runner and lose muscle mass, weight train and do ab exercises at the same time so you replace that weight loss with muscle. And this might sound kind of weird, but when I drink no sodas at all (only plain water), my abs show a lot more.

Some people are just genetically inclined to not have a 6 pack and have to almost make themselves crazy to get one. It sounds like you're healthy, so don't obsess or anything over it.


http://This message has been edited by merveilleux (edited Jul-15-2006).

After years and thousands of crunches, situps, etc., you name it, I finally learned the secret to 6-pack abs at the age of 45. Two words: Body Fat. Get your body fat down below 10% or so and your abs will magically appear. If your body fat is above that your abs will stay hidden, no matter how many crunches you do. Those body builders you see on TV and in magazines? They're carrying around body fat in the neighborhood of 5% or so.

The key, of course, is getting your body fat down. I would say there's 3 main ingredients:

1. Diet
2. Exercise
3. Time

Diet is about 70% of the answer. You're on the right track by cutting out processed carbs. Bread is ok as long as it is whole grain (that's whole GRAIN, not whole wheat - 2 totally different things). I would also avoid potatoes, carrots, and some of the fruits naturally high in sugar, like pineapple. Personally, I love my protein and I eat a lot of beef, chicken, and fish. I also snack a lot on mixed nuts. A lot of people avoid nuts because they are "high in fat" but they work for me.

I assume you're already doing the exercise. If you're doing ab exercises I would continue them, but really, there's no reason to work them any harder than you would any other muscle group. No one would ever even consider doing 400 reps on the bench press every day, but for some reason people seem to thing that's a formula that will work for their abs.

As for time - by that I mean, be patient. It ain't gonna happen overnight. But if you're consistent - if you're committed for the long hault - it will happen.

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You can't use logic to talk a man out of a position that he didn't use logic to get himself into.

I'm a girl so it might be different for me. I run a lot and use a total gym. I swim and bike too, the key is to watch what you eat, don't eat to little. I do sit ups before i go to bed and that seems to help a lot.
A great ab work out that my track team does is 3min. abs...
first-set a timer for 3 minutes
second-do each of the six crunches below for 30 seconds each:
ok-first lay on your back, put your legs straight up and reach for your toes lowering yourself each time
next-do bicycle sit and move your legs in and out as you move your arms a your back by pedaling your feet and moving your torso side to side
after that lay on your back and raise your legs, then lower then out straight and continue this
next is rowers where you rowing motions like a.
do this last one for a minute-lay on your stomach and move your upper body up and down without touching the ground w/ your hands

http://This message has been edited by nicolem91 (edited Jul-16-2006).

quote:<HR>Originally posted by bcarvings:
I don't want to brag but I can see you have enough help. I have a 6 pack even though my stomach is large and hangs down. You would think that if you can see a six pack that would be able to sapport your stomach from "hanging out".

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I've understand that happens if you exercise your hip flexor muscles too much. What type of ab work are you doing? If you avoid exercises that isolate the abs and don't work the hip flexors, that shouldn't happen. Traditional sit ups, for example, are generally a bad idea, especially for the lower back.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Flyweight:

I've understand that happens if you exercise your hip flexor muscles too much. What type of ab work are you doing? If you avoid exercises that isolate the abs and don't work the hip flexors, that shouldn't happen. Traditional sit ups, for example, are generally a bad idea, especially for the lower back.<HR>

I don't do any workout for abs. Naturally I have smaller then normal arms, but as far as abs go mine really show.