Where are my Abs?

So you’ve got your diet in line and you’re working out you abs regularly but you’re STILL just not seeing the results.  This happens, and for everyone it may be different, but I can think of two explanations that will likely account 99% of the people still waiting on results. 1.  You’re not patient enough.  When it comes down to it, if having abs was easy, everyone would have them.  The problem is that getting abs is not “easy” and most people give up before they ever start to show.  They get upset that in couple weeks their abs haven’t shown up and lose hope that they will ever have them.  Be patient, getting abs will take time.  Even if you are doing everything correctly, it can still take months.  I’m not saying it isn’t impossible to make them visible in a couple weeks, but depending on your current body composition, it could take longer than you may want it to. 2. You’re using momentum to work your abs.  I don’t mean to offend anyone but I see this all the time on campus, and I think the best way I can describe it is that the guys trying to do abs look like a flailing fish out of water.  You’re ab workout shouldn’t be chaotic, sure it should be intense, but not out of control.  So what do you do?  Slow down, it’s not a race, don’t use momentum generated using other muscles to pull yourself up for a crunch.  Aim to squeeze your abs slowly and “feel” your abs doing the work for each repetition. I hope this helps, I’ve found that I get a lot more out of my core workouts when I slow down and focus on working just my abs.  It will take time, and you may not see improvement over the course of a couple weeks, but I promise it will pay off if you just keep working it.   Goodluck!   Jack Burdick is majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota and along with hisweightlifting workouts, he competes in marathons and ultra-marathons (50 mile races) and is looking to earn a Cross-Fit title or to be recognized with The World’s Fittest Man title which is reserved for an ultra endurance power athlete.