quoted from magnus
"Yes abs should be trained like other muscles…not everyday, and not with 30 or 50 or 100 rep sets…
You also have to remember that abs are core muscles and get worked during heavy compound lifts as well…so they don’t need a ton of direct work either…
Obliques get worked through various twisting motions…you can try adding twists to different freeweight or cable movements…example…you’re doing one arm cable rows and you let it stretch you out at the bottom and at the top of the movement you pull past the normal stopping point, twisting your upper body back…If you have a set up for hyper extensions, then you can use that and turn to one side with a weight in one hand and lower yourself to the side to then raise urself back to the starting position.
I don’t have a workout for abs…abs should take like 10 minutes tops post workout so I just do any random 2 exercises or so that I feel tax them the most. I’ll list a few of my favorites:
Weighted crunches. (not the machines…I think they kinda suck) Take a dumbell in your hands, lie down flat and hold the weight directly overhead…now crunch straight up as if trying to touch the ceiling with the weight
Leg Lifts…Some gyms have set-ups for this exercise…if you don’t have one…lie down flat and have a partner throw ur legs to the ground after successfully raising them over you…and don’t let your feet touch the ground.
Reverse Crunch. Lying flat on the ground…do one leg lift and hold ur legs perpendicular to the ground…now use ur legs as you did earlier with the weight in your hand and try to touch the ceiling with ur feet…ur but and lower back should come off the ground slightly.
Ball Tosses…Sit on a swiss ball and have a partner throw a medicine ball over your head so that you have to lay back in order to catch it…as you sit up with the medicine ball in hand, try to keep ur arms almost completely straight and then throw the ball back to your partner.
Bicycles. Lying on your back with hands behind your head, lift your now straightened legs off the ground slightly…now crunch and twist to the right, pulling ur right knee up to ur chest…almost as if trying to touch your right knee and your left elbow. Repeat this, twisting to the left…now do this in a continuous fashion, and your legs will resemble someone peddling a bicycle…
Those are a few, I hope this helps…Also with lean people who still don’t have great abs…they may need to put a little mass on them…a friend of mine is the same way…Heavy compound lifts and weighted ab exercises will do it over time…but not when your dieting like hell."
thanks for the help.
