Abs questions:
 

Basically I'm 6'3", 193 pounds and was about a month ago at 18% bodyfat (I think that figure was at least partially inaccurate).

My other muscles are definitely starting to show definition - far more than 5 months ago when I started working out, from 220 pounds, and in general it's getting to a point where I can say "hey I am looking respectably decent now".

However, while I actually don't have much to go in terms of improvement to a "flat" stomach, I want something that looks more like my bicep - in other words some six-pack action or at least something a lot more sculpted.

I did crunches and I have a friend who did crunches for awhile, he had a flat stomach but it was never really toned all that much. I have read and sometimes look at http://www.bestabs.com/ but lately, I am hitting up this machine called the Ab2000 and it seems to both hurt more (in the right way) and work more than any of the decline/bench/regular/weighted crunches that I've tried thus far.

Any personal, more specific or neat things to check out? By the way are the obliques something that you have to train outside of the whole ab area or do they start getting in line after a certain point?

Last thing is whether I should or have to burn a lot more fat before I start seeing effects happen around the stomach, or should I just start doing more/different ab stuff? As I mentioned, I was working out for 5 months, but only seriously started doing some ab stuff about the last two weeks. Thanks!

There is no secret to having your abs show. In order for them to show you need to have low bodyfat. 18% is much too high for them to be showing. TO achieve the 6-pack look, you need to aim lower then 13% bodyfat. Around 13% is when you will start seeing them, and as you get lower, the abs will show even more.

Start doing more cardio, and eat better if you want a six pack :)

If you want to have a nice etimate on how much fat you need to lose based on the information that you gave me, here it is:

your LBM is roughly 158.26 (this is with no fat on your body). Your goal bodyfat will be 13%. The formula to figure out the weight you will be if you lost ONLY fat would be LBM / 1.0 - %BF goal= weight in pounds.

Therefore after losing fat only, you will be about 182 lbs and 13% BF before you really start seeing those abs nicely.


Hope that helps.
Good luck to you!

*EDIT* Note: Your abs are like any other muscle on your body. If you want them to look more defined (remember, they will still only show when you have low BF%) then you should be incorporating weighted crunches into your current ab workout. You also should be careful not to overtrain them. I do abs 2 times a week and completely kill them when I do them. Don't do more then 2 intense ab workouts a week. When it comes to bodybuilding, too much is not always a good thing.

a six pack is the result of low body fat. obliques you can hit by adding a twist at the end of a crunch. search through some of the old threads about them, i know you'll find some good stuff.

deleted because i'd rather tell you i'm an idiot than show you why.

To figure out your LBM, you have to know your bodyfat % :(. If you find that out, I can break down not only your LBM, but a ton of other things as well including carb/protein/fat ratios, goal weight with desired BF%, etc. I suggest buying a pair of calipers to measure your BF%. They are relatively cheap and do a much better job then a scale could do at painting the real picture of your physique.

hahahahaha.... you know what's funny? i completely missed that he put his bodyfat in there! that's why i couldn't figure out how you got it. no sleep + boredom + at work = me dumb. :)

Plan 9 will you be my personal trainer? You know alot!

If you live in the Orange County California area, sure :)