| For advanced bodybuilders in today's age of "mass at | | | | when training back or legs. If you've been training for |
| all costs" attitude and prevalence of insulin, growth | | | | years, chances are, you already have this. If not, doing |
| hormone, and more, the waistline is the most | | | | 2 to 4 sets for upper abs (crunches) and 2 sets for |
| dangerous area of the body. Look at any professional | | | | lower abs (lying leg raises) are more than enough to |
| bodybuilding stage - Three quarters of the men | | | | provide this strength base. Use low intensity, low reps |
| onstage are facing the battle of the bulge when it | | | | when completing these exercises. |
| comes to the waistline. Even at 3% body fat, they still | | | | Abdominal cuts are largely a result of dieting. You will |
| possess a bulging belly. Why? | | | | want to do some abdominal training in the last four |
| A large waistline is very often the byproduct of the | | | | weeks before a bodybuilding competition, but aside |
| heavy food, training, and steroid regimens required to | | | | from that, training them year-round will result in a |
| compete at 220, 240, or 250+ pounds. It's inevitable | | | | heavily muscled midsection which, while terrific for core |
| that the waistline will grow as the arms, legs, chest, | | | | strength and balance, does detract from the goal of |
| back, and shoulders grow. A major key to bodybuilding | | | | classical bodybuilding aesthetics. A standard four-week |
| success, then, is to minimize the negative appearance | | | | abdominal training routine would look like this: |
| of a large waistline. | | | | -3 Sets Machine Crunches |
| For advanced competitive bodybuilders, abdominal | | | | -3 Sets Hanging Leg Raises |
| training should be done minimally throughout the year. I | | | | -2 Sets Lightweight Twisting Rope Crunches |
| know, this might sound odd to those folks who have | | | | This might not seem like much, but you must recall that |
| started their workouts with ten or twenty minutes of | | | | the goal of the pre-contest diet is not to muscle up the |
| abdominal training for the last ten years. But a thick | | | | abdominals, but to shape them so that the other body |
| midsection - even if it is muscle - detracts from the | | | | parts are featured more prominently. Diet should |
| width of the shoulders, the thickness of the legs, and | | | | remove the body fat. Training should shape the |
| the overall "v-taper" of a good bodybuilder. | | | | abdominals. Your presentation should emphasize your |
| You will need an initial base of strength in order to | | | | larger muscle groups. Keep your waistline tight, and |
| protect the midsection from a hernia or other injury | | | | bodybuilding success will follow! |