- Our On-Site Arnold Classic Coverage
- XFL AND USFL ANNOUNCE INTENT TO MERGE
- Apparel, Subscriptions, Back & Single Issues
- Ammannomics Our 2023 Olympia Title Sponsor
- Gregg Valentino – Blocking All Estrogen is Bad / Best Liver Care Advice / Right Amount of Protein
- Springballers Daily USFL Updates
- Magzter Digital Version of MuscleSport Magazine
- mSm APP – Free Download
- Earning a Living in the Bodybuilding / Fitness Industry
- Three Instagram Live Shows Per Week
Play the ‘Weighting’ Game For Abs To Obtain a Six-Pack
- Updated: March 31, 2015
So another summer has come and gone with you leaving your tank top on as long as possible at the beach. Sure, you’re mighty proud of those guns, shoulders and movie screen width lats. But no matter what you have been doing for your abdominals, that six-pack keeps playing hide-and-go-seek with you.
You’ve been dieting properly and doing endless crunches, leg raises and whatever else is available at your disposal. The flat belly that you have worked so hard to get has seemed to hit its peak and further development seems impossible.
Except that you, Mr. Know It All, have overlooked the obvious once again.
While you’re loading up the plates to work every other body part, has it ever occurred to you why the one that’s lagging the most only gets body weight resistance? No one is going to tell you to do an ab movement with 315 additional pounds, but using nothing but that melon head of yours may never get the job done.
Light to moderate additional weight while still using high repetition sets is the way to go if you want to finally put some definition in the midsection. And frequency is also a major component in reaching your long-sought goal.
Critics may say that using weight will make you blockier looking and that may hold some truth to it. But if you use light enough weight to allow for a high rep count, then you’ll be able to bring out the muscles underneath without having them grow out too much. The theory is akin to the old “high reps and light weight for cuts” idea.
At the beginning of every workout, perform at least four sets of 25 or more reps of one of the following:
*CABLE PULLDOWN CRUNCHES
The handle can be exchangeable, but a good choice is a single-arm cable handle. The key to this exercise is to fully extend and stretch out the entire abdominal wall on the top portion of the rep. Kneel down far enough away from the weight stack to allow for the full stretch on a 45-degree angle, and hold the handle out in front a few inches above your face instead of against your head. This will help on working the abs top to bottom.
*HANGING LEG RAISES
The same as the common one but place a light dumbbell in between your legs and hold vertically in between your feet.
*CRUNCH MACHINES
Every gym has a bunch of these and most are really not anything special, but can still be used for variation. If your gym has a regular crunch bench that has a plate attachment behind the headrest, throw a 10-pounder back there and feel the difference. This is the better choice if available.
Photo: AJ JAWA Photo
Pingback: 7 Reasons Your Abs Aren't Showing | Muscle Sport Magazine