Beer belly ftl...

[alwaysbannedMX6]

Yeah, it seems to be an issue with me. I go to the gym rather normally, but I dislocated my shoulder benching last week, and Ive been out of it for a week or so.

Now as it always happens, while Im at the gym, my belly is rather flat and cut, yet I can never get that six pack definition I try so hard. I do abbs in 7 diferent ways, I run, I wear a belly wrap....nothing. Now, I leave the gym for a week, and the most discusting, abusurd and, to tell you the truth, weird beer belly comes up and is just odd.

I dont drink that much beer....ok, well, I drink beer...on mondays...$5 a pitcher lay of me. Anywho, one would expect that, even though Im not exercising, my belly wont go that big that fast, since I exercise everyday (even now I still play soccer almost daily, along with football and baseball). Yet there it is, making me look old, and my mum and my g/f are liek wtf dood?

Anywho question is, anybody out there that exercises frequently or has a six pack, what did you do? Any particular exercises, trends, diet? I do know that genetics play a lot in your body definition, and one has only too look at my father and be like "AHA!!!", but I fail to beleive thats it. Whitnoize I know your "slightly buffed, maybe some input?

[A Simple MX6]

I dunno, when I did track, it took me maybe half a year, and now, I've only slightly lost it, and I rarely exercise or anything anymore.

Perhaps I could tell you the ab-work we did?
It was pretty damn painful though.
(Especially having just did either a running work out or a distance run)

Hell, I could even tell you what we did as far as the actual practices even.
(Again, just PM me..)

[bigjbuff28]

well i always did bunches of ab workouts and never got my six pack and its cause i thought working out my abs would get rid of that layer of flab on top of it, WRONG. if what you say is true "I do abbs in 7 diferent ways, I run, I wear a belly wrap" than it is definitely your diet

a few weeks ago i wondered the same thing, and you probably have the six pack under the flab (as i do), but since i have stopped eating fast food i have definitely seen a difference but i am still working out my abs and doing my cardiovascular activities

p.s. the beer isnt helping at all, "you have to lose some to gain some", just like me giving up the fast food for me, giving up beer might be the key for you :P

[91turbo666]

if its really bugging you then you should go to a doctor/ sports doctor and get a body fat percentage calculated. from there you can get advice on how much body fat you can safely lose. it sounds like you have some strong abs already if youve been working them. your genetics can leave you at a disadvantage, as fat normally forms around the gut for guys and you mightnt be able to safely lose that much more overall body fat to show up the definition in the abs.

if your exercising then you should look at your diet as the culprit. cut out high sugar foods and any fast foods. and no soft drink either. sugar puts on weight easily

and remember being healthy doesnt always mean looking like a fitness model

[a train]

Do some laps in the pool, I swam my whole life and I had a six pack since before I could remember. I dont swim anymore but I do lift weights to keep my physique. I dont eat fast food but I drink a lot of beer being a college student. It may just be your body type.

[guitardude1568]

When used to by in gymnastics and got a six pack from that. that was when i was 11 or 12. i ended up quiting because of an injury but i kept my six pack and then when i was a freshman i got into gymnastics again and got a lot more definition to it. after that year i quit and i am a senior now and still have it without working out since then but part of that is i have no fat on me. i would say watch your diet, I have a friend that used to be in soccer and when he started eating fast food all the time he got a gut over it. but if you want to know something that works what we did were these things called v-ups. i dont know if thats the technical name for it but what you do is pick your head and legs up off the ground and then bring your arms and toes into the air and try to touch them and then go back down but you cant let your head or feet touch the ground and keep doing that. at first i was dying after about 20 but by the time i quit i could do 70. The kids i was in gymnastics with would start crying because it hurt so bad but it definately worked.

[Malicious]

"Definition" is body fat percentage, plain and simple.

You can do all the ab work and weightlifting you want, cardio and DIET are what you need to drop the fat covering your abs.

What do you do in the way of cardio? How often?

What's your diet like? Beer once a week isn't going to kill you, but you're better off without.

[Turk]

Photos of beer belly?

[BShark]

I had a six pack at age 15. No gimmicks, just the basics. #1 Rule: You have to be committed. Period. Here's my suggestions:

--Cardio. You need to burn off the fat. At least 30 minutes a day of sweating. Running is the best, it can be on the spot (keep your knees high). You can also do jumping jacks too.

--Diet: I aimed to try to match the Canada food guide and get something from all four food groups. Get rid of the beer and anything that's not good for you. A strict diet is key, but difficult. For example, snacks? A small portion of block cheese and almonds/nuts. Salad is good everyday, but no dressing. A sprinkle of olive oil or lemon is a fantastic substitute. Drink V8. Cut out your sugars, such as pop. Allow yourself only one 'break day' a week in regards to diet; treat yourself to pizza and pop.

Excercise:

Do abs six days a week. Three, break day, three. Even if you aren't doing any other muscles, do your abs. Do a set during the commercial breaks of your fav TV show, that's a good two minutes to pump out a set or two.

Here's what I did, in order:

(1) Lie on the floor, legs bent halfway with your feet flat on the floor, so your legs look like a teepee from the side. Position your open hands behind your ears, so your arms stick out to each side (do not hold your ears, just hover behind them). Keeping your face parallel to ceiling, use your abs to lift you up so your shoulders come off the ground four inches -- hold for 1-2 seconds, go back down. Doing this slowly is best to get your abs to tense up on their own. You can do it fast, but must focus on tensing your abs yourself.
*3 sets of 25-30 repeitions, with only 20-30 seconds of break between each set. Works upper abs.

(2) Same thing as above, but this time, raise your legs off the ground so your thighs are vertical and your shins are parallel to the floor, so your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle. Works lower abs.

(3) Leg Raises. Lie down and put your hands under your butt (doesn't have to be directly under, could be just at the edges). Legs are straight, elevate to 5-6 inches off the ground, then raise them to a 45 degree angle, then back down to the 6 inches, and so on. Keeping your face parallel to the ceiling, elevate your head an inch or two off the ground.
*3 sets of 25-30 reps. Works lower abs.

--Variation-- Do this on a bench, where your butt is on the end of the bench and your legs are hanging off the end. This way, you have greater range of motion by being able to lower your legs at a negative degree.

(4) Classic crunch. VERY intense but VERY effective if done properly. In the position described in #1, use your abs ONLY to bring yourself all the way up to your knees. But you must only be using your abs and not your back or any momentum for the crunch.
*3 sets of 10. Works medial abs.

(5) Bicycle crunch. Starting in the position described in (2), pull your left leg towards your face, and at the same time extend your right leg straight out, but still elevated. At the same time twist your upper body so your right elbow reaches forward to meet your incoming left leg. Twist as far as you can with your upper body. Then alternate.
*3 sets of 20-25 on each side. Works obliques.

(6) Side bends. With a 10-15lb dumbell, stand with your feet shoulder length apart. Slowly, bend down to the side as far as you can. Slowly come up. Then do the other side.
*3 sets of 10-15 each side. Works obliques.

There's more, but you get the picture.

[KING6]

Originally Posted by sik_turk

Photos of beer belly?

you gay?

........not that theres anything wrong with that.

[alwaysbannedMX6]

lol...no pics of belly kthnxbai...
Thnx shark for the input. Ill try someof those exercises. My diet is very well balanced, I dont drink much soda, I dont eat out as much (mostly pizza and chinese food, but never or very very sporadically BK, McD's or anything of that nature), I feed myself mostly home cooked meals, protein shakes (at least once a day). My body weight is 147lbs, Im a whoping 5'7. My goal is 155lbs, but seems I might need some help getting there (i.e. creatine), since 145-147 is my stable natural weight. Trust me, Ive been working out for at least 5 years now. I know how to work out, but for some odd reason my belly never goes away. Is pretty strong yeah, but never defined.

My current routine involves 300 abs 5-6 days a week. 20 reps of all diferent styles, from crunches, to leg raises, to hanging leg raises, to machines with weights. Also Ive been cutting on the cardio a bit, since my left knee is back to haunt me (I had an accident a few years back, on a bike), but Ive been trying to swim at least once a week.

Anywho, thnx for the input guys, any other comments will be greatly appreciated.

*edit*

Beer once a week isn't going to kill you, but you're better off without.

Beer once a week wont kill me, but living without beer will...I would secks my beer but that might make it foamy...

[SixSick6]

Who didn't have a Mens Fitness stomach at 15? That "no gimmicks" logic is severely flawed due to the fact that at 15 you barely had hair on your balls.

[Turk]

Originally Posted by KING6

you gay?

........not that theres anything wrong with that.

Nope, just thought it would make the story better. Doing my bit . Not like I asked for photos of his wang.

Great logic behind sick6's comment btw.

[Blake]

Ive got pretty good abs right now, not specatular. I do this workout everyday called P90X Its got a ab ripper x routine in it. Maybe try that workout, its rather aggressive and its made to build muscle.

Its expensive though you get a full book and lots of dvds blah blah....but by the time im done im sobing wet from sweat and the floor below me is slippery.

[Malicious]

Originally Posted by alwaysbrokenMX6

I know how to work out, but for some odd reason my belly never goes away. Is pretty strong yeah, but never defined.

My current routine involves 300 abs 5-6 days a week. 20 reps of all diferent styles, from crunches, to leg raises, to hanging leg raises, to machines with weights. Also Ive been cutting on the cardio a bit, since my left knee is back to haunt me (I had an accident a few years back, on a bike), but Ive been trying to swim at least once a week.

If the belly never goes away, then it would seem that you don't know how to work out

Stop spending so much time on the weights and strength training. Once a week in the pool isn't going to do much for you. You need to run, bike or swim at least 3 times a week.