Ab Secrets

Hmmm… no suggestions?  That's discouraging.

My best results have come from silly amounts of cardio combined with eating only fibrous carbs after 6 p.m. (mostly steamed broccoli or spinach salad).  The problem, for me anyway, was sustaining that diet too long.

Some have sung the praises of cardio in the morning on an empty stomach.  Personally, this doesn't do it for me.  No calories = low intensity for this kid.

Swimming and jump rope are very effective for me.  What about you?

Its not really rocket science, its pretty simple, mostly a combination of dedicated and consistent cardio with strict control of the diet (no cheating!).  The rest depends on your individual starting point, physically, and the speed of your metabolism.

I might add, one of the things I was taught very early on (by a woman who should have been a competitive pro and had one of the best set of abs I've ever seen, female or male) was to always exhale at the peak of contraction while doing crunch work.  Over time it causes the ab-wall to pull inward, rather then encouraging it to push outward.  It's one of those lit'l things you rarely, if ever, see mentioned in the mags or books.

Oh, and if you choose to use something like Ripped Fuel, Hydroxycut, etal, be damned careful with the recommended dosages – many of them over suggest the amount to use, so start out very low until you find out just how much your personal intake can handle.

What about those who suggest that crunches are counter-productive, Alex?

I've heard that before, and true, you can overdevelop them if you put too much into directly working them.  That's why they have mirrors in gyms, for visual feedback.  😉

And that the abs are worked sufficiently through other movements and exercises?

My opinion is that it depends on what activity / sport you're involved with.  I would agree its probably less of an issue for some, but if you're lifting on a consistent and regular basis, you'd better work on keep up that core strength, and not just abs, but all the way around the torso.  Most think of front, even the sides, but neglect the lower back – i.e. hyperextenstions and/or stiff legged deads.  If you don't, you're going to run into trouble down the road while squats, etal.  I find it even helps my form on the bench, preventing me from unthinkingly arching my back (a big no-no).

Aren't abs just a function of overall fitness, lean-ness and where a given person's body likes to store fat?

Yes, and no, I would agree that for some its a matter of genetics (those lucky bastards and bastardettes), but on the other hand some that are very athletically oriented, and have a tight waist, but don't have a discernible six-pack (probably holding water and sodium).  Others who'd probably never w/o in their lives and are just naturally lean, having one.  Mighty look good, but they're usually not very strong, might not even be in terribly great shape, either.

Is there such a thing as over developed abs? I've seen references to symmetry when someone's legs would be too big compared to upperbody, but abs? Not clear on this one..

I'm not a huge fitness person myself, but at the gym near me people have been criticized for working too much on the abs.

I know this is aimed at women, but, as we all know here, the differences between men and women in this respect are very narrow.  It seems to generally support what AlexG and Lingster are saying:

http://www.musclewithattitude.com/readArticle.do?id=1795075&cr=