6 pack

[IronFist]

The only thing I'd add is maybe a little high rep ab work once a week for endurance. Abs don't normally seem to get fatigued, but you don't want to get what I will hereby refer to as "PTP-syndrome" where you rule at strength but have sucky endurance.

Like when all you do is PTP for a long time, and then suddenly your 12RM is like 50% of your 1RM.

[Toby]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot that. Do 2 hrs a day on the abdoer and everything will be sweet.

Iron, he wants a 6-pack. He doesn't seem to care about functionality. BTW, did you really go down to 50% of your 1RM for your 12RM? Wow. I'll have to try it out, but I don't think that I've suffered anywhere near that badly.

[Ford Prefect]

I love these 6-pack threads. Not only are they good for a laugh, but it also means summer is coming.

[ElPietro]

The only way to get a 6 pack quickly is at your local beer store.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Toby
Oh yeah, I almost forgot that. Do 2 hrs a day on the abdoer and everything will be sweet.

Iron, he wants a 6-pack. He doesn't seem to care about functionality. BTW, did you really go down to 50% of your 1RM for your 12RM? Wow. I'll have to try it out, but I don't think that I've suffered anywhere near that badly.

I exaggerated a bit. But it was pretty bad. I had trouble benching 135 or 155 for 10 reps. I don't remember which number it was, tho. But this was after doing only 5 reps for months and months, along with some time of not working out at all during those months.

[IronMonkey]

Originally posted by Toby
Here's a routine for you -

Part a) (i) Janda situps. 3 sets of 4-8. Do them right. Add weights when you progress. Works upper and lower abs .
(ii) Full-contact twists. 3 sets of 6-8 reps (one L-R twist is 1 rep). Add weight as you progress. Works your obliques. Do these 2 exercises 2 or 3 times a week.

Part b) Diet. I'm not a dietician so I won't advise you here.

Um, I think I know what the Full-contact twists are, but Janda situps? Can you explain please?

Also, I didnt start on the Sunday like I wanted cause I came home late and felt real sleepy, so if I dont start this Sunday, I promise Im going to punch myself hard in the face for backing out and being lazy

And that endurance thing IronFist, I'll take your advice

[Toby]

Do them right or you're wasting your time.

[GeneChing]

Chinese women's newest accessory: six-pack abs
By Nanlin Fang, CNN
Updated 9:30 AM ET, Wed May 30, 2018

Story highlights
Exercise isn't traditionally part of Chinese culture
Increasing exposure to Western lifestyles has made a desire for a more muscular physique trendy

(CNN)Along the streets of Beijing, flyers advertising newly built gyms are passed into everyone's hands.
With prices ranging from 1,000 RMB to 19,000 RMB (US $156 to $2,974) a year, salespeople are ready to explain the advantages of their gym's membership card over the competition.
Exercise isn't traditionally part of Chinese culture, barring some aunties square-dancing in the park and a few tai chi practitioners on the sidelines. But that's changing now, with the hashtag #MajiaXian going viral on Weibo, China's Twitter.
Because the outline of well-toned abdominal muscles looks like a vest, Chinese call abs "majia" -- or "vest" -- and "xian" -- or "lines," and this year they have become the goal of many women's pre-summer workouts.
Related terms such as "MajiaXian VS Fat Tiger," "Follow Victoria Secret Models to have Majia Xian" or "If you don't lose weight in May, only sadness will be left in June" rank high on Weibo's list of trending topics They have been trending since Chinese New Year, when people make resolutions, and will continue to do so through summer until late fall -- when people wear less clothing.
Traditionally, a more willowy physique has been considered to be ideal for Chinese women -- as represented in literature, art, families and education -- and gyms were not a common part of everyday life. But increasing exposure to Western lifestyles has made a desire for a more muscular physique, namely abdominal muscles, trendy.

'I want to have majia xian, and I will have it one day'

After seeing people around her with six-packs, fashion designer Liang Yuan started to work out with the goal of well-defined abs. She bought a gym membership as a birthday gift for herself. Friends and family members have started to call her a "fitness monster" because she goes to the gym twice a day, seven days in a row.
"I want to challenge myself," she added.
Liang skips most social outings so she can hunker down in a nearby fitness studio after work. Over the next two hours, she works up a sweat via a mix of high-intensity interval training, boxing, aerial yoga and sometimes dancing.
On Liang's WeChat, the most popular social media app in China, she documents her journey toward majia xian.


After 50-minute HIIT training, Liang Yuan takes photos of herself to document her workout days.

"This is not just a beginning; this is a way to look back," she wrote, summarizing her achievements in 2017. "I have done something I didn't even dare to dream in the past, and now I achieved something I thought I was unable to do." She had developed a six-pack.
The goal of defined abs is shared by hundreds of thousands of young Chinese women like Liu Zhichang, a 25-year-old operator in a marketing team of a tech company in Beijing, drawing them to gyms. Workout posts on WeChat have spread among her friends like a "virus," she said, adding that every woman wants to have majia xian, especially when they see their friends' toned abs.
"At the beginning, I secretly admired them," she said. She dedicated herself to working out, making it a habit. She said to herself, "I want to have majia xian, and I will have it one day."

'They want to be like a skeleton or a piece of paper'

Women in China have long associated being beautiful with being skinny, but a desire to be thin is often taken to the extreme, with detrimental effect on health and self-esteem -- a situation not unique to China.
Hou Shiyao, CEO of a new women-only gym called Fit 4 Life in Beijing, said that most of the women who come to her studio aim to lose weight from the start. "They want to be like a skeleton or a piece of paper."
Many fads attest to this obsession.
The A4 social media challenge in 2017 featured women posting pictures of themselves covering their waists with an A4 sheet of paper (21 centimeters by 29.7 centimeters, or 8 inches by 11 inches). Another had women posting pictures of themselves wrapping their hands around their waists to show off their slender physiques.
The Weibo hashtag "I have waist of A4 size" has been viewed more than 210 million times.


Hou Shiyao, left, and Zhang Weiya founded the women-only gym Fit 4 Life in Beijing.

Absorbing a steady diet of internet celebrities' photos, many girls dream of sharing their favorite star's body shape despite the fact that everyone is born with a different one.

'Eventually, you will accept who you are'

But for some women today, going to the gym has changed their goals, as they discover that body shape can be changed somewhat by gaining muscle without losing weight.
Shi Wen, who attended her first fitness class two years ago with the aim of being thin, is now a part-time trainer. Now, she says that being skinny doesn't matter; she's fine the way she is.
Many workout-obsessed women are increasingly realizing that no matter how hard they try, they won't be supermodels, and acknowledging that physiques can vary due to a number of factors. This is an important step on their path to self-acceptance. For many, the aim of losing weight has transformed into the desire to be the best version of themselves.
"Eventually, you will accept who you are and live peacefully with your disadvantages," Hou said.
Liu doesn't weigh herself as often as she used to. Instead, she pays more attention to the changes in her body. But majia xian is still her ultimate goal.
"I hope I can wear a crop top this summer!" she said.

"Exercise isn't traditionally part of Chinese culture" WTH?

[David Jamieson]

well, I like yoga pants is the take away for me here....

[GeneChing]

New Abdominal Etching Procedure Can Give You a Six Pack
• Plastic surgeons have developed a new liposuction technique that creates chiseled abs.
• The procedure is targeted towards those who can't achieve a toned torso with exercise and diet alone.
• Of course, plastic surgery comes with its own set of risks.


BY MELISSA MATTHEWS
APR 23, 2019

Ab Etching Before and AfterPLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS
Everyone wants a sculpted stomach, but it may seem unobtainable for many guys. Now, plastic surgeons say six pack abs are within your reach–and the solution doesn't require hours of planking.

A procedure called abdominal etching uses a new liposuction technique to create a six pack appearance, according to a paper published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Essentially, plastic surgeons very precisely suction fat from the abdomen's superficial and deep layers to accentuate a patient's natural abdominal lines. Results can be extra-defined or more smooth and round, depending on preference.

Getting a flat belly without exercising or eating healthy sounds to good to be true–and it is. The doctors note that the best results are seen on patients who exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, but "have certain resistant areas of fat that hides the desired muscular definition."

And since we are talking about plastic surgery, this method comes with some major risks, like infections as well as potential nerve and muscle damage. It's also possible that you won't be happy with the results. Then there's the matter of maintaining your six pack, which does requires healthy eating and exercise. Patients in this study worked with nutrition and personal training professionals to retain their new physiques.


Left: Patient before surgery. Right: Patient photographed one year after the ab etching procedure. He also received a deltoid/bicep augmentation and male breast reduction.
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS


Left: Patient before abdominal etching. Right: Patient four years after the procedure.
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS
Of course, there are other less drastic ways to achieve abs that rival Zac Efron's notoriously chiseled torso. Nixing added sugar, mastering the plank, and performing plenty of compound movements can help get you an enviable physique.

MELISSA MATTHEWS Health Writer
Melissa Matthews is the health writer at MensHealth.com and has written for Newsweek, Men's Fitness, Inc.

I bet these would look more convincing with yoga pants...

[David Jamieson]

I bet these would look more convincing with yoga pants...

People who cheat instead of doing the work will always throw their money away for some short term vanity.

Shredding is always temporary.

Abs are made in the kitchen and getting cut is made in the gym.

No discipline? No long term results you'll like.

Step one: Stop hating yourself people!