Abs

I'm currently do abs twice a week at the gym, but I'm thinking of getting a swiss ball and a mat for home and doing a quick abs work out first thing in the morning. So the question is if I was to do 1 set of 3 at home how often should I do it and should I abandon doing any ab stuff at the gym if I do? I wouldn't want to stop doing abs completely at the gym as there are things like leg lifts and decline crunches that I can't do at home? So what would the best way be to fgo about this? 5 days a week in the morning on top of what I'm doing already? Or only on days when I'm not doing abs at the gym?

There's lots to mention re: abs.

First something that's fact: you want at least one day of rest between ab workouts. They NEED this time to recover.

OK so now to the debatable stuff...

There's one school of thought that says "you wouldn't endless reps on any other muscle group so why with abs?" and another that says abs are a bit different so require a lighter load for greater reps (up to about 25).

I'm not sure which is correct and anyone who comes in here stating that one is, doesn't know what they're talking about. I would suggest that if you've got a swiss ball at home and are prepared to do several workouts a week, you can just do both.

So... I'd do something like weighted hanging leg lifts and weighted decline crunches for 5 or 6 sets total, aiming for 6-10 reps in each set.

Then at home on the swiss ball maybe look at 4 sets of crunches until you fail. Make sure you keep perfect form and your arms in the correct place - this is key.

Hopefully mixing the two types won't be counter-productive

If you're doing nice heavy sets for bench, deadlifts, squats, pull ups/chinups, etc, you'll be working them hard anyway. And it's not *that* hard to build ab muscles. The hard part is getting rid of the fat that's hiding them

Pilates. Nuf said.

Pilates for strength but not size...

Why would you want size there anyway?

You will really strong core. You will have definition(if that's what you're after).

Cos it looks good!

Pilates will make your body, not just abs, look good man.

This is doubly true after you have your Heathrow Injection.

Uh huh

Girls like de abs

And then you can take off your shirt at those outdoor summery things and say shit like... I could crush a can on my abs... want to touch them? ... without looking like a complete twat (though... you still will look like a tosser)

Core strength = bridging

We do shitloads of it, because having a strong core is absolutely fucking essential to pack walks.

love having a swiss ball at home, for those times when you can't make it to the gym... like today.

There is a good range of ab workouts for them, and if I get bored I alternate with lots of plank and burpees. (ab killers)

Best way to visible abs is burning fat in general.

It's quite possible to gain mass in the abs and end up looking fatter, just because there's a layer of fat there so you can't see the definition.

Core strength is a different matter entirely of course

Last time I had the six pack *sigh* it was mostly due to losing fat. I did a specific ab routine 2for 15 minutes, 2-3 times a week but it was cutting out alcohol and reducing complex carb intake in the avo (as well as training 10-12 hours per week) that got me there.

It’s amazing what disappears in 2 ½ months though.

And what reappears. 4 kg of it to be precise. But it’s nice to be back into routine and it should go again in a few weeks.

There's something in the London water that makes people convert oxygen into fat when they aren't engaging in exercise... I now understand the Heathrow Injection all too well.