ok im trying to get my stomach tighter like i have a six pack already but its not like i guess u could say TIGHT it only looks super tight if i flex so would doing sit ups/abb workout make it nice and tight or does it just make the muscles bigger i hope this isnt a stupid question but can you gus please help me out what do i have to do thanks
do isometrics like L-sits. those'll teach you muscle tension. basically do a search for gymnastics exercises and get those that involve holding positions while in tension.
Fishy makes some good points. You also might have to remember that ab muscles are just like any other muscle and will grow only when resistance is increased. Do weighted crunches, or, if you have access to it, rope crunches from a high pulley station. Adding this resistance will cause the ab muscles to grow and therefore, give you more to define.
Noted KE but the OP states he already has 6-pack but it just looks "loose". Not sure what that means exactly but I interpreted that as mean not as defined when just plain standing around.
Don't know what you are moaning about Kensou, i bet your 6 pack looks better than my beer barrel!!!!!!!
Eat frequent smaller meals if you don't already. When you eat fewer larger meals they expand your gut. I have a similar prob because of my work schedule and thin pockets. Lately my guts been gettin a li'l bloated instead of more defined cuz I can't follow my own advice. When I can afford it and have the time to eat in the manner I suggested my abs tighten up. Also try stomach vacs. They tighten up the inner part of your abs which should be naturally tight.
Please, please, please stop worrying about how tight your abs are. Learn to use a barbell properly and put some freakin weight on. When you actually have some muscle you can worry about dropping bodyfat and having something left to show.
he's not worrying about showing, he already has one the problem is that it's apparently all show and no go.
I feel that his books (Power to the People. The Naked Warrior especially) have widened my understanding of strength in general. He's the real deal and his methods make sense and I've been seeing good results. Way faster then when I didn't have the books. You should check it out. He specializes in developing maximal strength, but states that your dynamic strength will follow your maximal strength for a long time. You can also apply his methods to endurance strength (martial arts for me ) as stated in Naked Warrior. This can help the thread starter because it's about building tighter muscle through strength training and not "fluffy" (in lack of a better word), big muscles. Do you know about him? What are your thoughts on him? -kombat
I think I understand what you are getting at but just to clarify. You have a six pack and probably no body fat, but it is not flat against your body or concave like you would expect. It kind of protrudes a little?? I had the same problem when I was younger. (Wish I did know. Best thing you could say about my six pack is you can see where it has been. ) What you need to do is quite simple. Hold you belly in. The muscles you are developing with your sit ups and the like are external. The muscles which hold these in are underneath and work differently. Wear a pair of pants with a belt and spend 10 minutes a day keeping your stomach from touching your jeans. ie Hold it in. Maybe go for a walk while you are doing this. These muscles strengthen and tighten quite quickly.
I do the cross sit ups then bycicle then I Lift my legs to work my lower abs then I do rgular situps for my upper then the last one I lift my legs and upper body at the same time to work all of them.Also try isometrics thing too.I have only been working out for like 3 months and my abs are looking nice.Try everyones idea they are all good ideas and will make your abs look better.
I personally use a pyramid crunch set, followed by bicycle crunches. I took me about a month, but i remade my 6 pack, made it tighter and more solid for martial arts hits. The best thing to look for when doing sit ups etc is the burning feeling. The more often you get that burning feeling, the better off you are. For instance, you can do 3 sets of pyramids (like in my case) and do somewhere in the vacinity of 300 crunches. As long as you get the burn, thats a good thing. At the same time, you need to make sure you are eating alot of protein, getting good carbs, plenty of water and alot of fruit and veg. Without a good diet, plus good rest, plus sets of burning in ab workouts, you wont get the desired results you are looking for.
Great info so far. My 2.0: Regular interval training (sprints, burpee conditioning, etc) to keep the metabolism burning, and abdominal exercises with added resistance (sit-ups while holding a weight plate to your chest, or hanging leg raises with a weight plate attached to your feet) to build the mass of your abdominal muscles. Don't forget your obliques!