AAAgent said:
fugly, i see from your past pictures you got sick abs. how did u get them to be large, cut and defined?
i've had a six pack in the past when i was constantly swimming but my muscles weren't bulging out. Now i have the six pack definition which shows but its covered by my stomach fat/love handles. i'm not fat but its just this extra fat/meat i can't burn off.
I haven't hit the abs/cardio hard yet since i'm trying to bulk up and get more powerful.
Any recommendations for good ab workouts? I will start HIIT training and more cardio in february.
Believe it or not my abs are actually one of my weakest muscle groups... my strengths are upper back, delts and glutes... abs, arms, quads/calves are weak.
The key to great abdominal definition, I believe is a great diet and good conditioning. I think its counterproductive to try and have abs while bulking. Aim to either be cut/lean or to bulk... but not both. Trust me on this... I found this out the hard way while I was dancing. Furthermore, my trainer who's an IFBB pro w/ over 20 years experience competing also echoes my sentiments.
Gotta eat clean, do a variety of cardio and train abs to get good abs. My diet when I was dancing was mostly lean protein sources, fruit, w/ some veges. Very little processed foods and starches and dairy were consumed. For my ab routine I usually did a circuit at the start of every work out. I think the circuit was something like this:
- Hanging leg raise super-setted w/ reverse crunch. (3 sets)
- 1-2 minute bridge w/ partial crunch. (2-3 sets)
Obviously I'd vary this up and I'd do olympic/powerlifting moves to further work abs, but this was the core of my ab routine.
Again, don't try and be lean when you're trying to bulk. Don't let your bodyfat spiral outta control, but also don't try to stay in the single digit range. Remember diet is the most important thing when it comes to revealing abs. And remember that hard vascular look is a product of chemical assistance. For me to duplicate that look when I was off cycle would mean having a very strict diet/conditioning regimen.
Also don't confuse strength/power with size. I've been lucky enough to be around my fair share of topline athletes: world class sprinters and bobsledders, and national level powerlifters. Pound-for-pound some of the strongest guys you'll ever see are small 150-lb lean asian guys who are insanely strong. I've also met huge bodybuilders who are strong by everyday standards but are actually quite weak when compared to athletes in the strength world that are of similar weight. Strength/power output is a function of neuromuscular efficiency, muscle size, lifting technique, etc... Size is simply a function on how big your muscles are. Genetics, diet and appropriate training modality are what determines muscle size.
In my experience girls love the jacked and lean look so you'd be fending off beetches w/ a cattle prod! 
