How to Get Great Abs
For so many, the holy grail of fitness is having “great abs”. And as a fitness professional, I think this makes complete sense! Having visible ab definition is a sure sign that you are physically fit. No one gets good abs from sitting around watching TV and over-eating.
However, HOW you get good abs is not the way many think. I often get asked “what exercises can I do to have better abs?”. Often these questions are coming from people who, I believe, want an answer something like this “If you just do these three secret exercises every day, you will have amazing abs in 4 weeks.”. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. Surprisingly, having good abs has VERY little to do with ab exercises at all. It is all about bodyfat percentage. Genetics and where you carry your bodyfat matter to some degree as well. I’ll explain all of this in more detail below.
Exercises for Good Abs
The exercises I would recommend for getting good abs include very few ab exercises at all! In order to get good abs, you need to begin a full-body workout program that incorporates lifting weights (or body-weight exercises) in some way. You also need to have a solid eating plan that has you eating enough protein along with an appropriate amount of carbs and fats. All of these things will enable you to get to a low enough bodyfat % so that you can actually see ab definition.
You can actually completely ignore your abs during your workouts and still have an amazing midsection. You engage your abs in so many other exercises that it is not actually necessary to add in additional ab exercises (although I still have most of my clients do at least a few ab specific exercises each week).
IFBB/NPC Muscle Mayhem Pro/Am Championships 2018
I did very few (maybe none?) direct ab exercises during my prep for this 2018 competition.
If someone comes to me specifically wanting to improve the appearance of their mid-section, I give them the same advice I do to almost any other client. I start them on a full-body lifting program and have them start tracking their macros. So many of the exercises I often prescribe to my clients (ex. squats, overhead shoulder presses, etc.) engage the abs much more than you might think. Incorporating exercises that work the largest muscle groups (ex. legs, glutes, back, shoulders) will help you build lean muscle which, in turn, will help you to get leaner (assuming you are not over-eating).
Good Abs – Is it all about Genetics?
There is definitely a genetic component to how good your abs look at well. WHERE you carry your bodyfat is a very genetic thing. While you might be able to control how high or low your bodyfat is, you can’t control where it comes off of first when you lose weight or where it comes back onto first when you gain weight. For example, I naturally carry most of my bodyfat in my lower half. I can have visible abs even when I’m not super lean just because I don’t naturally carry a lot of bodyfat in my upper half. However, I struggle to lean out my legs/glutes. I have to get REALLY lean to have no visible thigh cellulite and defined legs.
However, if you have a more apple-shaped figure (i.e. you carry more of your weight in your mid-section), you may have a much harder time getting defined abs (although your legs might look amazing year-round!). If you fall into this category, you likely need to get to a pretty low bodyfat% before you will start to see ab definition.
Nutrition for Good Abs
There is certainly no “quick fix abs diet”. And getting to the point where you are happy with your mid-section definitely takes consistency, patience, and hard work. I would recommend starting by simply tracking your food so you know what you are currently eating. From there, you can determine if you need to change up your macro distribution in order to lose bodyfat.
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