I hear a lot about girls that do ab workouts almost everyday, and still, the ABS don’t seem to show up. Well, if this happens to you too, you are probably doing something wrong. There are many reasons why your abs are not there yet, and I am going to give you 5 of them. Let’s get started!
You Don’t Do Cardio
ABS are the hardest muscle group to get. You probably have your ABS, but they are covered with fat. And the fat can’t be lost just by doing the AB workouts, you have to do a lot of cardio too.Cardio is the best thing that you can do for your body, it improves your health, it burns fat, and by that you are losing weight. We all have fat in our body, especially on the stomach area, and that fat is the hardest to get rid of. So, do the strength training, then do the ABS workout and in the end do 30 minutes cardio, to pop your muscles out.
You Don’t Eat Clean
How can your ABS work unless you do? You can do workouts as much as you want, butABS are made in the kitchen, remember?Your stomach shouldn’t be a wasted basket. You have to pick carefully,and eat healthy and clean food, a lot of veggies and food that is full of protein. Eating clean is one of the most important parts in your trip to gorgeous and sexy abs.
Don’t FocusOn Quantity, But Quality
There is no need to do 50 or 100 crunches each day.Many people do even more than that, thinking that it will help them spot-reduce from the belly, but that is nothing but a myth. The thing is that you have to focus on the quality of your workouts, and not the quantity.If you are doing your exercises correctly, twoto three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions per exercise is all you need to get results.
You’re Doing Only Crunches
Even when we have daily workout routines, we have to make constant changes. It is a mistake to do only crunches, when there are so many AB workouts out there. The ABS are a complex muscle group, so you cannot oblique them with only one workout. Here is a list of my ideas for AB exercises that you can tryThe Best AB Workouts!
Take Your Time
You didn’t gain that weight in two weeks, right? So you can’t expect to lose it fast too. Sometimes it takes months, even years to lose the weight we have gained. So just be patient, try hard, and you’ll see the results.You didn’t gain that weight over night, so don’t expect to lose it that fast too.Don’t expect miracles and don’t be upset if you measure yourself after one week and you don’t see a difference, because it takes time. Keep going, and remember that you get out of this what you put in.
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8 Comments
Chile May 27, 2016 at 7:31 am - Reply
This is completely false. I was an extreme athlete with 7% body fat and could not fully develop six pack abs. Not everyone can. It depends a lot on body type and with each body type comes different shaped abs. Please correct your facts.
moni May 30, 2016 at 8:09 am - Reply
Yes, you’re right, sometimes the reason is the body type, but since I’m a fitness coach for many years now, I can confirm that these 5 facts can also be the reason why your ab workouts are not working.
Kind regards to you :)
Caroline July 9, 2018 at 8:26 pm - Reply
Is it better to do balanced workouts like an arm workout one day and an abb workout the next? If you have a flat stomach already about how long will it take?
Monica May July 10, 2018 at 8:39 am - Reply
Caroline,
Fitness is always evolving as the world itself so if 3 years ago you’d ask me this same question I’d answer – absolutely, split training is the way to go.
However, nowadays we know that HIIT and Tabata combined with weight lifting is the best way to both burn fat and tone some muscles.
That’s why I’ll say that working on your body as a whole piece is the way to achieve the best of results.
Also, if you already have flat stomach, I think you could achieve results in a few months.
However, we are all different and it varies from one person to another… For some people it happens so slow, while others need half of that time to make those abs.
What you could do to speed up the process is clean your diet and workout daily.
Also, have you checked my latest article on abs?
I think you’ll find it really helpful, here it is: https://fitgirlsdiary.com/12-reasons-why-your-abs-arent-showing-yet-how-to-get-abs-showing-and-lose-belly-fat-fast/
Hope I helped :)
Love,
Monica
Abby August 15, 2018 at 12:59 pm - Reply
Good advice! Thanks for posting! I weigh about 133 but have 20.3 percent body fat. I will try all these tips out and hopefully my abs will start to appear!!!
Monica May August 20, 2018 at 7:51 am - Reply
Abby,
I’m glad I helped.
Also, please check out my latest ABS article where I explain everything a lot better with some dated info.
Here it is: https://fitgirlsdiary.com/12-reasons-why-your-abs-arent-showing-yet-how-to-get-abs-showing-and-lose-belly-fat-fast/
Love,
Monica
Danni March 19, 2020 at 3:15 am - Reply
Strength training (lifting heavy weights) is a much better way to get abs than cardio (and no you won’t look like a man)! You need to actually have muscle before shedding fat to see visible abs. And abs are mostly made in the kitchen.
I am body builder competitor and I ONLY do cardio for the last few weeks before a show to see ab lines. This a much more complex than ‘5 reasons’ and if you are serious about getting in shape you should talk to a professional to set individual goals based on many personal factors. Consistency in exercise and diet provide the best results.
Additionally, remember to love your body in all phases. Positive body image goes much further than having visible abs.
Monica May March 19, 2020 at 11:09 pm - Reply
Agree!
Thanks for the comment :)
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