professional advice on Weighted abs in relation to waist

[irish007]

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)

if y'all wanna see the short here it is:

it seems like bro science

 

[masonmatt1000]

@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

 

[pif15]

@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

 

[dawn16]

@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.

 

[laurie2777]

@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

 

[asperd]

@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?

 

[bioluminescence]

@irish007 My personal opinion on this is that this is the same line of thinking where women say "I don't want to lift weights because I don't wanna look like a man". You obviously know how hard it is to build muscle in the first place, I think it's really difficult to accidentally build abs that are "too wide". I think having a wider stringer core makes you look like a tank anyway but that's just my 2c

 

[vakf]

@bioluminescence The anime villain always has a taper with a tiny waist. The final boss in any armed combat live action movie has the big wide cobra core. It’s “tougher” imo

 

[mommajulesberry]

@irish007 if you lose your v taper because you got some noobie ab gains, your lats and delts suck

 

[surfing_australian]

@irish007 If you don't do core exercises where the obliques are the limiting factor you'll be fine. A silly equivalent would be: "man I hope my chest doesn't get too big because I'm overhead pressing a lot"

 

[dannyx18]

@irish007 I love weighted abdominal movements. I was worried about that too years ago but it didn't do anything crazy. I just adjusted my training and diet to make adjustments on my programs. I do regular non weighted core work as well to ensure proper formation.

My favorite abdominal exercise are the ab roller, oblique cable twists, cable crunches (make sure you always use proper form or they're worthless and could be bothersome to your back), lying alternating heel touches. I also really love decline sit-ups, But I know they can be hard on your back. If you keep your core and abdominal muscles tight when you're doing them you should be fine but if you have back issues I would not recommend decline sit-ups.

Core strengthening is also good if you can do that at least one day a week on your non lifting day with some cardiovascular training. Stuff like planks.

I would recommend not ignoring the obliques. I honestly feel like I get enough oblique training from alternating heel touches and oblique cable twists.

All depends on your aesthetic goals and overall goals.

It also depends on how strong your core is and how strong your back is. Because you're going to work out your core in your regular movements for weight lifting anyways if you're utilizing proper form and techniques.

Abs are made in the kitchen.

 

[alexandria281]

@irish007 I think it's definitely possible to thicken up your waist if you do too much oblique stuff

 

[irish007]

@alexandria281 im not hitting obliques at all.

 

[alexandria281]

@irish007 Then I wouldn't worry about the rest of your weighted ab exercises

 

[irish007]

@alexandria281 but doesn't all ab exercises hit the obliques to a certain extent?

 

[alexandria281]

@irish007 If you are gifted in that area, sure. It doesn't for me

 

[sue21]

@irish007 Is that the only thing you’re training? If not, you’re going to be fine.

 

[bubblegoose42]

@irish007 Just avoid twisting stuff. I’m a men’s physique athlete. The reason I can even compete was from doing weighted ab training. EVERY SINGLE ab machine at my gym. I have maxed out for 3x15s.

Doing weighted leg raises and using the cable stacks are the only way I can get some ab training done with a realistic resistance addition each week.

Your waist is going to be mostly dependent on your hip structure anyway. So what if it gets slightly thicker. Get even bigger lats and shoulders.