I was at around 12% bodyfat before I was on a lean bulk. On the bulk, I realized I wanted more defined abs. So, I thought a good idea was to add weights to my ab routine. This included weighted crunches, leg raises, and v ups; I am not working out my obliques specifically at all. However, it has recently come to my attention (I saw on a tiktok) that weighted exercises may be adding size to my waist (I found out that all ab exercises utilizes the obliques to a certain extent). I've tried to find a professional answer online and I can't; there were some YouTube videos and websites that had conflicting answers. My question is - should I avoid weighted ab exercises if my goal is to have more defined abs and not widen my waist? I would love any professional advice. I want to go for a v taper look , I just wanted to make sure I wasn't shooting myself in the foot.
I should mention that I have a decently small waist as part of my genetics. BW: 176 Height: 5'11 bodyfat now: probably around 13-14% (still have visible abs)
@irish007 We fight every day in the gym and kitchen to make gains and you act like you’re going to accidentally have the best gains in a muscle group you’ll barely train
@masonmatt1000 Actually came here to make this point, unless you’re a pro I highly doubt you’re gunna accidentally gain enough muscle to make you’re waist look big, hell even if I train mine they don’t grow enough to widen anything
@pif15 Yea, I never understood this point. How much are you actually going to widen your obliques by training them directly and hard? Like an inch on each side? If you’re growing them that much, you’re likely growing everything else even more and still look proportionate and aesthetic.
@dawn16 Literal fucking millimeters lol, especially if they’ve already been training. Not super uncommon for advanced nattys to gain like 4 pounds of muscle in TWO YEARS across their ENTIRE BODY, so I wouldn’t worry about bulging obliques lmao
@masonmatt1000 Rectus abdominis is easier to grow than most of the other muscle groups. When I used to be 12% body fat, my abs looked great. And I couldn't even do 110 lbs on the ab crunch machine back then. How do you explain that? Body fat %. Now that I'm like 15+% body fat and my ab visibility sucks, I can rep out 200 lbs like its nothing even though I stopped doing ab isolations for a couple months before that. Probably because I'm far more experienced in the gym overall having built up my core from other movements than when I was skinny.
I'm not saying abs are made in the kitchen. They are revealed in the kitchen. But it doesn't take much to make them in the gym. The only people who may need to train abs directly are the skinny dudes who still can't see their abs. Not that women on Tinder gave a shit about my abs when I used to be skinny. Lmfao. It's COPE to think that training your abs directly is going to give you a nice six pack at 18% body fat unless you are Eddie Hall. I can't deadlift, Squat and bench like Eddie Hall. That's why his abs are more visible than mine. Lmfao. Did ab isos make Eddie Hall's abs pop? Or was it lifting heavy in general that grew his abs?
