• 💪 Hello, please SIGN-UP FOR A FREE account and become a member of our community!
    You will then be able to start threads, post comments and send messages to other members. Thanks!
  • 🔥 Kits4Less.com #1 MOST LAB-TESTED SOURCE — 25% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER! 🔥

How many of you train abs?

How many of you train abs?

  • Yes, once a week.

    Votes: 6 14.0%

  • Yes, 2-3 times a week

    Votes: 15 34.9%

  • Yes, more than 3 times a week.

    Votes: 13 30.2%

  • No, diet alone.

    Votes: 9 20.9%
  • Total voters
    43
IronWave86

IronWave86

Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2025
Messages
221
Reaction score
385
SB Labs
So I’m curious, how many of you guys actually have a dedicated ab routine? I’ve always been told, just focus on the diet and the abs will show. I’ve also been told that with heavy compound lifts, such as squats or deadlifts, your core will strengthen and ab days aren’t needed. What are your thoughts?

And if you do have dedicated ab days, what does it look like?
 
You have to atleast build your abs to see them when you do get lean.. mine where flat couldn’t tell I had abs. Always bothered me, started hitting them hard the last year and now I can see them without flexing.
Still want some more definition so I hit them 2/3 times a week. I’ll do 3/4 sets of either hanging leg raises or cable crunches (Arnold style) before I start my workout
 
Same for me, I started a cut, dropped a lot of weight and my stomach was flat but barely any abs, I had to start hitting them hard. Pretty much same routine as @Nood and now they pop
 
Every other day after my cardio. Alternate them with calves on the other days.
 
6 days a week at the end of a workout.
i have some extra skin from being overweight and its helped alot especially on the lower.
 
5-6 days a week. Vary it and is as much core work as purely abs (obliques, etc). Less for how I look and more now for keeping an older dude stable while doing stuff (lifting, skiing, sneezing, putting on my socks lol - lots of ways my back will go out if I don’t pay attention to my core).

Been loving strict toes to ceiling lately for some reason

Hoping to see it translate this winter to hard carving and bump runs like I’m a decade younger again, but we’ll see


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SB Labs
Not every session, but most. Mostly hammer strength machine crunches for 3/4 solid sets. Occasionally I’ll add in hanging leg raises, sometimes with ankle weights if I have the gusto that day. My opinion is that abs are 60% diet, 40% training. Gotta grow the tissue before they start poking out.
 
I just started doing light training for them. Six inches, and today I started doing hanging leg raises but I got 3 herniated discs in my lower back so I rlly haven’t trained them in a couple years til recently
 
Thank you, everyone. It definitely looks like I need to start incorporating them lol.

My wife is a PT and she is always telling me I also need to do vacuums to help with posture as well. I tend to stand with my lower belly sticking out making it look worse that it is.
 
never really trained abs and always had very overdeveloped abs. seems like the people who have to train abs are people who heavily bank on isolations, machine work, and volume (or just have unfortunate genetics).

adding them in 3 sets once a week soon though, just to see if i can make em even better i guess
 
yes. Typically do Cable Crunches and Leg Raises (curl your butt, not hip flexors) two times a week.

I've started doing some function training to help a little bit. Ab Wheel, Wood Chop, Landmine Rotations, etc
 
I throw them in twice a week. Couple sets of hanging leg raises and couple sets of machine crunches. Every once in a while I'll toss in some twists for obliques as well.
 
I feel like anyone that dies powerlifting is technically doing an ad routine better than most who have an "ab routine", but that's not to say there isn't a benefit to an "ab routine" and that it won't supplement the powerlifting beautifully.
 
Moya Squats said:
powerlifting is technically doing an ad routine better than most who have an "ab routine",
Click to expand...
Curious why you think powerlifting movements would better stimulate the abs than directly training them?

Or are you just saying most people’s ab routine are shit 😂
 
FearsomeCOR said:
Curious why you think powerlifting movements would better stimulate the abs than directly training them?

Or are you just saying most people’s ab routine are shit 😂
Click to expand...
I've seen this before and think it's bullshit. Sure, you're bracing your core and pushing against the belt to stabilize on Squats/DL, but you're doing nothing for spine flection.
 
SB Labs
Ab structure is completely genetic. Training them will just get what you have to pop more when you are lean. The talk above regarding powerlifting translating to ab work is mostly nonsense. I have guys transition from powerlifting to bodybuilding all the time and having a strong core from bracing is different than flexion.
 
Every other day for me. Abs are a stubborn muscle you need to hit them frequently like calves

Leg raises and weighed cable crunches is all you really need. Built a decent core this way
 
Sector. said:
Every other day for me. Abs are a stubborn muscle you need to hit them frequently like calves

Leg raises and weighed cable crunches is all you really need. Built a decent core this way
Click to expand...
Same here, alternate them EOD with calves. Just do em with my fasted cardio.
 
Meetketchup said:
Ab structure is completely genetic. Training them will just get what you have to pop more when you are lean. The talk above regarding powerlifting translating to ab work is mostly nonsense. I have guys transition from powerlifting to bodybuilding all the time and having a strong core from bracing is different than flexion.
Click to expand...
I am not asking this in a smart alecky way, just genuinely asking because I am curious: how is having a strong core from power lifting different than flexion (which I assume means directly training abs). I figured as long as the muscle is working, the muscle will get stronger and that’s that. I am perfectly open to being wrong but just wondering why…
 
Absolutely never. Training the muscle makes it grow. I don’t want my waist to grow for classic, and my abs are plenty defined. If I was in open, probably different story.
 
I dont think training your abs will make your waist grow, unless you overdo the oblique work

I’ve heard weighted oblique work can make it appear bigger but I’m not sure how true this actually is. Most people lose their waist because they have weak transverse abdominals and stomach control combined with large food intake

training transverse abdominals is one of the most underrated excersises for a good core. People should be pulling vaccums fasted every morning, regardless of division or offseason/prep.
 
Sector. said:
I dont think training your abs will make your waist grow, unless you overdo the oblique work

I’ve heard weighted oblique work can make it appear bigger but I’m not sure how true this actually is. Most people lose their waist because they have weak transverse abdominals and stomach control combined with large food intake

training transverse abdominals is one of the most underrated excersises for a good core. People should be pulling vaccums fasted every morning, regardless division or offseason/prep.
Click to expand...
When I sit in my recliner I do vacuums all the time.
Blow all the air out of your mouth flex your abs and hold.
Small breaths and keep the vacuum tight for as long as possible.
this is EXACTLY what it takes to keep a gut from distention.
I see guys wearing "Corsets" trying to keep their gut flat.
Seems silly to me.
 

Latest threads

Back
Top