# Cardio that works specifically on the abs?



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

I don't really need to run or jump on the bike because I'm skinny already except for my abs. Doing abs exercises on their own is useless cause you're just building muscle beneath the fat. So is there any sort of cardio exercise that just targets the abdomen area?

Edit: Now that I think about it, it probably also has to do with diet too


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## ColdFury (Nov 6, 2003)

Everything I've read says you can't target any specific area with fat loss.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

He's right; there is no such thing as exercise/diet that targets a specific area.


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## Arrow (Oct 20, 2006)

If you are skinny then you just do ab exercises. They do work, at least for me. Running+ab excercise+low body fat = great abs

trust me

Also, a lot of ab definition is genetics. Some skinny people dont have good ab muscles or have a layer of fat over them(despite low overall body fat), so the best you can do it work to make those ab muscles bigger.


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## Arrow (Oct 20, 2006)

If you run ALOT, you do get great abs. A lot of professional runners have great abs. Im sure they do some excercises too but I know from experience running reinforces it.

Meb keflezghi, Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist :yes


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

That's because runners are skinny, you can't spot reduce. You can't spot reduce. You can't spot reduce. Runners have a low body fat %; therefore, their abs show instead of the fat covering up the definition.


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## bumblebtuna (Dec 3, 2006)

results in the ab area is 90% diet, 10% exercise.

when a slender person puts on weight (or anyone for that matter), it is first observed around the midsection. It is therefore the last area where fat tissue is taken off....generally speaking of course, there are gender considerations.

maybe I'm exaggerating my numbers a bit, but you get the point.


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## Arrow (Oct 20, 2006)

Prodigal Son said:


> That's because runners are skinny, you can't spot reduce. You can't spot reduce. You can't spot reduce. Runners have a low body fat %; therefore, their abs show instead of the fat covering up the definition.


Its not just body fat. I use to be on the track team and there are skinny kids with little ab definition. You actually need to work out the abs too to get them to bulge.

Also, it depends what type of definition you want. If you just want them to be visible, I guess reducing body fat helps. But if you really want nice abs, you need to work out those ab muscles. If you run alot, you will know that the "core" of the body is really important, especially as you start going faster and longer.

Look at shawn crawford, olympic sprint gold medalist



















Notice how his arms are not as defined as his abs.
When you run and your body is in midair the entire bodys weight rest on the core abs and back

Also, ab definition is easier for guys than girls, because girls do have higher body fat % naturally, especially around the hip area


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

That's just genetics, people's abs look different when visible. Some people have to get extremely low bf% for their abs to even show, also skin tone, light, etc all affect definition. Everybody has a 6 pack, there is a layer of fat that is covering it up on most people.


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## daaaaave (Jan 1, 2007)

I started doing pilates which is a good ab workout and they'll hit your obliques and lots of muscles you wouldn't know how to work out.


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## bent (Aug 4, 2005)

i heard that there is lots of fat inside the abdomen surrounding the various organs that can make the abdomen bulge as well as the fat on the outside. Also, a good exercise is to support yourself on your elbows off of the ground and do leg lifts past the 90 degree angle.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

you cant see your abs if you have too much bodyfat. just because youre slim doesnt mean you dont have any bodyfat around your abdomen. a lot of slim guys may be thin but have a rather large percentage of overall bodyfat. diet and cardio will help with lowering your bodyfat levels. ab exercises will help define them. do those for 2-3 months and you'll get great results


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

This is true, although Paxil has really done a number on my body.
I haven't run in the past two weeks due to recent circumstances, and having stitches in my knee (which I hope to have removed today). I was afraid I would cause more harm by running with the stitches still in. I only had three, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
I am also battling a little bit of a head cold and am currently living in a cold snap where we have been lucky to get to 20F during the day and lucky to stay above 0F at night.


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## Steve85 (Oct 11, 2006)

*Re: re: Cardio that works specifically on the abs?*



Gumaro said:


> you cant see your abs if you have too much bodyfat. just because youre slim doesnt mean you dont have any bodyfat around your abdomen. a lot of slim guys may be thin but have a rather large percentage of overall bodyfat. diet and cardio will help with lowering your bodyfat levels. ab exercises will help define them. do those for 2-3 months and you'll get great results


Yep, precisely. I have a friend that is 5'10" 130 lbs (really "thin"). Zero ab definition because he has so little muscle. His body fat is roughly 14%. Unless you have GInormous abs, ab definition really starts showing at 11% body fat (not 6 pack abs, but you start seeing them poke through). But it all depends on how you hold your fat. Everyone holds their fat differently. Two people could have the exact same sized muscles, same height, same everything...Same relatively low body fat, and one could have visible abs and the other doesn't.


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## scairy (Sep 18, 2005)

*Re: re: Cardio that works specifically on the abs?*



bumblebtuna said:


> results in the ab area is 90% diet, 10% exercise.
> 
> when a slender person puts on weight (or anyone for that matter), it is first observed around the midsection. It is therefore the last area where fat tissue is taken off....generally speaking of course, there are gender considerations.
> 
> maybe I'm exaggerating my numbers a bit, but you get the point.


Correct. Men in particular store fat around stomach area rather than the rest of the body.

Diet is huge. I also recommend weighted resistance when doing abs.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

Yep. I notice that I'm starting to get a gut, and that frightens me. I think I would end up looking pregnant if I got fat. :lol


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

> when a slender person puts on weight (or anyone for that matter), it is first observed around the midsection. It is therefore the last area where fat tissue is taken off....generally speaking of course, there are gender considerations.


Definitely true. I've lost maybe about forty pounds in the last year (sort of an estimate because we don't have a bathroom scale) and I've noticed that, while practically all other places are getting thin, my stomach still annoyingly has fat. It's less than it used to be, but there's still a bit of a gut there. For males especially, we have that android shape and extra weight accrues around the stomach and waist. Like you said, it's the first to come on and the last to come off.


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## kowabonga (Jun 10, 2006)

This is also a problem for me... all of my body is quite slim except my stomach and chest. It's seems quite hard to lose the fat stored there but i'm not so diciplined about keeping a healthy diet though. After been doing weights for a while it seems my chest looks even worse - i definately need to lose some bodyfat.


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

The stomach is usually the first place you put on fat and the last place you lose it when cutting for most men.


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