Spiderman
 Moderator
8/26/2008 9:22:21 AM |  I love it when I see someone who is committed and already has enjoyed some degree of success. I too had trouble exposing those stubborn ab muscles. Here's what I did to get them showing.
1.) Change your nutritional habits.
The number of calories doesn't matter quite so much as where you're getting them from. I follow the paleolithic regimen (you can read up online anywhere) DO NOT eat anything out of a box, can, bag or any other package (unless it's carrots or lettuce or someting) Minimize your intake of grains in any form including rice, pasta even beans (hard beans, not green) Eat lots of lean meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts and some fruit. Get your energy from fat, not carbs. (counterintuitive I know)
2.) Rip up those abs.
I finally achieved success by just slaughtering them. 15 - 20 minutes doing sets of 25 crunches, leg raises, sit ups, v ups, etc with 10 second breaks between sets. If you can stand up straight the next day after your first go at them, you didn't hit the intensity you need.
3.) Work smarter, not harder.
HIIT or high intensity interval training has been proven to be far more effective at burning fat than steady pace cardio. Read up online.
Do your weight training on days you are not doing cardio or HIIT, or at least separate the two workouts on the same day. After nearly an hour of cardio, your body has gone into a catabolic state, burning muscle for energy. Lifting weights in this state is probably not very effective for gaining metabolism boosting muscle mass. HIIT will shorten your workout so you never get in this catabolic zone.
These things worked for me, I hope it helps.
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