How much time do you spend on your abs?

[Boxfan83]

Ideally, what do you think is the proper amount of time that should be spent on abs? Im not looking to get a six pack, just a stronger core and a lil bit of a smaller waist.

I really hate working abs, I honestly only spend about 5 minutes on abs at the end of my workout (cardio & weights) because I find it non-gratifying in a sense. Whats your routine?

[GrandpaBernard]

I like those crunches with your feet off the ground. Kind of looks like a butterfly

And planks

[AddiX]

I remember doing 1000-1500 reps for Abs. I went overboard for sure.

Now I just do some core workout stuff with cords, and use some of the ab machines.

Retired from crunches.

[ChrisTMT]

Its okay to work them out twice a day? abs and core

[El-blanco]

About a year ago I was doing some ab work on a machine with weights and a bulge came out of my stomach(sports hernia). Thankfully it went away but I haven't even attempted abs since then.

Prior to that I hit them about once a week for 4 sets. Abs and legs are two areas I really don't care about now that I'm older.

[BuakawBanchamek]

Ideally, what do you think is the proper amount of time that should be spent on abs? Im not looking to get a six pack, just a stronger core and a lil bit of a smaller waist.

I really hate working abs, I honestly only spend about 5 minutes on abs at the end of my workout (cardio & weights) because I find it non-gratifying in a sense. Whats your routine?

I do 10-15 minutes straight, no break
3-4 times a week

Exercises:
Plank, side plank (both sides), hollow body plank, crunches, leg kicks, leg kicks crossed, leg raises, side ab crunches (both sides)

Try to mix different exercises! Don't just do 500 crunches or something

As for example the plank exercise works the abs by having them stabilize your body, where leg kicks als work your hip flexors and crunches work that "crunch motion"


And don't forget the lower back! Just as important for power,speed etc as abs and if you only train abs you will get back pain and wrong posture.

[PhilPhilly]

I aim to do 300-500 repetitions with the last 100 or more with medicine ball slams to the body. 3 times a week but aiming to do 5

[BG_Knocc_Out]

Ideally, what do you think is the proper amount of time that should be spent on abs? Im not looking to get a six pack, just a stronger core and a lil bit of a smaller waist.

I really hate working abs, I honestly only spend about 5 minutes on abs at the end of my workout (cardio & weights) because I find it non-gratifying in a sense. Whats your routine?

I wouldn't quantify it, but simply until you feel like you've done a complete workout. If you feel like you could have done another set, do another set.

There's a million core exercises. I find that the more creative they are the more fun they are to perform. It'll typically take me about 15-20 minutes for me to complete a routine. I make sure I alternate upper, lower, and obliques. A good amount of bodyweight, but mostly medicine balls, swiss balls, and Bosu ball exercises.

[watchayouhead]

I was a heavyweight and used to get hassled about my abs, so I went in on them and worked them hard until i got a 6 pack.
I noticed that shots to the body were hurting me MORE, so I backed off the abs and trained with some fat on my gut, and sure enough the body shots didnt hurt me so much.
So I'm not big on training abs.

I found that training legs turns out to be a big difference maker for me when I got weary, so I was big on training legs. If you want to be a 10 round fighter, leg training is more important than ab training if you ask me.
The difference after training legs shocked me.

[Zaryu]

Ideally, what do you think is the proper amount of time that should be spent on abs? Im not looking to get a six pack, just a stronger core and a lil bit of a smaller waist.

I really hate working abs, I honestly only spend about 5 minutes on abs at the end of my workout (cardio & weights) because I find it non-gratifying in a sense. Whats your routine?

I guess it would depend on the intensity of your workout. I don't really know what you're doing now for those 5 minutes, but I would recommend hanging leg raises with a slow and controlled motion.

The way I do them is:

-Hang up from a bar with a chin up grip

-I bend my elbows a little and tighten my core

- Raise legs straight forward ( knees always bend a little I don't worry about it) until your shins touch the bar.

- Lower legs to starting position slowly

This is a killer workout for me. I actually had to start with 3 sets 5-6 reps. After implementing this exercise to my routing I no longer felt the need to do endless repetitions of crunches to get a burn or be bouncing off from different ab machines to get slightly different muscle stimulation.

I still do a lot of planks and other floor exercises to accompany the workout, but t=not much more.