What can I do to get a flat stomach? Is it a lost cause?

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Broohaha

Banned
Jan 4, 2001
3,973
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I think we all know that if you want six pack abs, you need favorable genetics. I don't have that. Although I was darn skinny for most of my childhood, lately I've been finding that most of my fat seems to go straight to my gut and my backside.

Do people on ATOT have experience with different strategies to get in shape/lose the belly/get a six pack? I know I'll never get a six pack but a relatively flat stomach would be great, if I could get it. What's the best way to do it? Just cardio? Cardio/lifting? Just lifting? Any good websites or books about this stuff? I know 90% of the stuff out there is useless stuff aimed at trailer trash but are there any programs or workouts that actually work?
 
A

amnesiac

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
15,781
1
71
Getting a six pack is part genetics and part fanatical devotion to maintaining your body, but for most people an impossibility.

Getting a flat / nice stomach is different. Just eat right, and do proper exercises. Crunches, swedish ball, etc.. can all work, but since the stomach is basically one huge muscle it's going to take a lot of work. Do some research on it; you can actually really screw up your back if you do it wrong
 
Bignate603

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
I swam for years and ended up with a very defined stomach. I didn't have a perfect 6 pack but it was pretty close. There was a guy on my team with 7 abs, for some reason on one side he had an extra one down below the normal six on one side.
 
L

LordJezo

Banned
May 16, 2001
8,140
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Originally posted by: Bignate603
I swam for years and ended up with a very defined stomach. I didn't have a perfect 6 pack but it was pretty close. There was a guy on my team with 7 abs, for some reason on one side he had an extra one down below the normal six on one side.
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Heh.. I have been swimming for 3 years now and havent lost a single pound!
 
K

katka

Senior member
Jun 19, 2001
708
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Crunches with no air in the lungs (while breathing out), Fortunately I have always had a relatively flat stomach so getting the "six pack" was very easy for me. I have hips which were difficult to get rid of until I went to a dietician and she told me that I was not eating enough. I HAD to eat 1200 calories a day before my "fat" would go away. I kept a food diary and ate from the food pyramid (all food groups) low fat at least 20 fat grams but not more than 30 fat grams, and then and only then did I achieve perfection.

Of course I lifted light weights and did aerobics. I love aerobics, I could do a pretty mean stairmaster hour or two too. But only if I missed aerobics.
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
I have decent abbs and good genetics :D

Work hard. You will need a very low bf%. Some people can get away with having about 15% but I'd say thats about the max you can get away with ripped abbs. Less then 10% is perferable.

Remember that if you have more muscle/body mass that your bf% should be lower.

Also the abbs you see people have is a lot about lighting and dehydrating. If you dehydrate yourself for a about a week I BET YOU ANYMORE you will look ripped to Kingdom come. But that is dangerous and not good.

If you want good abbs you have to eat very good and clean. Forget about beer.

Hit the weights hard to get muscle mass to burn the calories. Run sprints and have lucky genetics.

Make each rep hard in the sit up. Do them at an incline with weights on your chest, it gets them to work harder for rep = make your abbs bigger. Then if you get have a low bf% they will show:D
 
Bignate603

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
Originally posted by: LordJezo
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I swam for years and ended up with a very defined stomach. I didn't have a perfect 6 pack but it was pretty close. There was a guy on my team with 7 abs, for some reason on one side he had an extra one down below the normal six on one side.
Click to expand...

Heh.. I have been swimming for 3 years now and havent lost a single pound!
Click to expand...

We did usually around 6500 yards a day in a two hour practice, 6 days a week. Our coach was NUTS.
 
K

katka

Senior member
Jun 19, 2001
708
0
0
If you dehydrate yourself for a about a week I BET YOU ANYMORE you will look ripped to Kingdom come.
I don't agree with this, I have know semi professional body builders and they lose "body fat" before the competition they don't dehydrate. This is why they look lean and the muscles show through. They eat only a food high in protein and drink water (obviously NOT DEHYDRATING themselves). But six packs usually don't require this process, but it can improve your look.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Originally posted by: LordJezo
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I swam for years and ended up with a very defined stomach. I didn't have a perfect 6 pack but it was pretty close. There was a guy on my team with 7 abs, for some reason on one side he had an extra one down below the normal six on one side.
Click to expand...

Heh.. I have been swimming for 3 years now and havent lost a single pound!
Click to expand...

We did usually around 6500 yards a day in a two hour practice, 6 days a week. Our coach was NUTS.
Click to expand...

Yeah to get a lot of improvement in your abbs is probably one of the hardest areas. Much easier to get big legs and a toned body then to get a ripped 6 pack.

You have to train for hundreds of hours and then have to start with pretty good shape to begin witih.
 
zCypher

zCypher

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2002
6,115
171
116
I've always had defined abs, but that could just be cause i'm skinny. I don't find it hard to improve them though, and I never noticed any people in my family that's in incredible shape, so I don't think it's all about the genes. Just about your habits. It's NOT impossible. WTF is with the idea that it's impossible to get a 6 pack? A 6 pack just means your abs are defined (thus showing the 6 muscle parts :p).. NOT hard to get. Of course, if you want every part of your chest/frontside showing constantly without flexing then you need incredibly low body fat, which is a different story entirely.
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Originally posted by: katka
If you dehydrate yourself for a about a week I BET YOU ANYMORE you will look ripped to Kingdom come.
I don't agree with this, I have know semi professional body builders and they lose "body fat" before the competition they don't dehydrate. This is why they look lean and the muscles show through. They eat only a food high in protein and drink water (obviously NOT DEHYDRATING themselves). But six packs usually don't require this process, but it can improve your look.
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All the pro body builders that go to the magazine shoots do this. They dehydrate for 2 weeks prior to the photo shoot then they do the shoot. They are not healthy and mostly all do some sort of drugs. They had a body building contest one year that no one took drugs and they did not look the same. Now they all do drugs. I think its sad they do drugs.

Anorld Z told a bunch of guys to get big by eating salt. They all did and they all got ill. Just tells you some of the mentality of these people willing to take drugs and try anything to get big like that.

side note: Its much easier for a fat big guy to get big and look like a body builder then for a small skinny guy.......
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