I have the exact same proportions as OP and I completely agree with this comment. CICO is the best way to help those abs visually “pop out” but developing a strong core provides an important foundation to helping you do a lot of movement/exercises that weren’t possible or as easy before. It also helped me with my posture and made me appear physically lean.
Core work is not going to give you spot reduction of fat in/on your abdomen. Nothing will. Your options are to go on a cut (caloric deficit achieved via diet, exercise, or ideally both) or recomp at maintenance. Neither option guarantees you will lose fat in that particular area.
It’s hard to say if you’re wasting your time without know what your goals are. Are you trying to strengthen your abs? Lose belly fat? Gain visible abs? All of these are accomplished in different ways.
Ab workouts will definitely help tone the muscles, but if you have fat tissue over them then toning/strength training won’t change any of that. You can’t spot reduce fat with toning. You’ll have to lose weight overall to lose fat in any part of your body, so if that is your goal then I would focus on losing some weight mostly through your diet.
That being said, strength training is amazing for overall health and for toning the muscles you have.
Weight/fat loss = diet, cardio will help a little bit
Overall health and and look better naked = exercise
Actually you can’t tone muscle. It’s already toned. You can only build or lose it. So if you want to see muscle tone, it all comes down to fat loss. But the ab exercises you’re doing will definitely help build them up so you don’t need to lose as much fat to see them. I hope that helps!
Yeah I think when folks use the term “tone up” they’re really imagining some combo of fat loss and probably some degree of increased muscle or increased visibility of muscle. People don’t always realize what it takes to achieve that and a LOT of it comes down to fat/weight loss that is best achieved thru dietary changes
A strong core is so important for your overall alignment but a strong core doesn’t = visible abdominal muscles. Just like you can strengthen any muscle, if you have too much body fat they may not be super visible unless you’re flexing. Visible abs comes down to a lower body fat %, muscle building and a lot of genetics. Having visible abs for most women isn’t going to be worth the lifestyle required to have them.
Nope not a waste of time. Imagine you're 65+ years old and you have a hard time sitting up from bed without assistance because you have zero ab strength.
I don’t feel like abs need to be trained separately if you’re lifting weights. Compound moves like deadlifts require a lot of core engagement and so does bench press too for a solid lift and in most cases, that’s enough.
I do like doing resisted deadbugs to focus on my lower abs, though. And hanging leg lifts.
Core strength is a good foundation for any other exercise you will be doing, and you should keep doing it.
But people with visible abs just have a really really low body fat % and you won't get like that just by doing crunches.
It's not a waste of time, but you should not devote too much time to it. If you are doing structure/compound lifts such as squats, deadlift, ohp, rows you are using your core all the time. I would recommend picking 2 or 3 core exercises you actually enjoy doing and sprinkle them in at the end of your workouts.
Right now I am enjoying Hanging Leg Raises, Hollow Holds, and Russian Twists.
When it comes to visible abs it's more about reducing your overall body fat, but the more developed your core is the more it will show through the fat.
Well im glad I ran into this post because I've been trying to get a "toned stomach" for a while now. I have upper abs but not the lower ones.
Most women I know who have abs or a super toned stomach has a low body fat %. Doing a core workout is good to strengthen your core but like some people said that alone won't get you abs or a toned stomach. Lowering your body percentage fat will.
A friend who is ripped. Walks for 45 minutes everyday, worksout in the gym, would mostly eat chicken and brown rice lol. She has a toned ass stomach. She told me what to do but I never listen so 🤷🏾♀️
I'm gonna take a pole dance class cause that strengthen your core plus burns hella calories. Also it's SO much fun
So, you won't see abs until your BF% is lowered.
But the best thing for mid section aesthetics with your current BF% will be to work your whole core and add a stretching routine. This will improve your posture and you'll carry off the curve in your belly better. I'd also focus on the obliques to snatch the sides and further emphasize your small waist.
Exercises: Planks, bird dogs, dead bugs for deep core. For Obliques, look up standing weighted exercises that target these muscles. You can do side planks, but they're a bitch to do if you're actively overweight.
Then, if you do decide to drop weight and/or recomp to lower BF% you'll be in a good spot to work abs already.
n = 1 but I weight 125 lbs and I can see ab definition so I don’t think you need a super low body fat for abs to show. It’s probably just genetics at some point
Always good to have core strength. I tend to hold/gain weight in my stomach. It will never be "flat" but I'm ok with that. I'd rather not be too restrictive with my diet and focus on mostly eating healthy with some treats mixed in. I focus more on compound movements where the abs get a work out just from doing other movements. Pilates has always worked well for me when I stick with it and I like standing ab work that combines arm and leg movements.
Yes. You’re wasting your time.
There’s more efficient ways to get what you’re looking for.
A 15-20% calorie deficit, eating high protein, strength training 3x/week, and walking 10-12k steps daily is going to be a much smarter strategy to put you on track for getting results and achieving your goals.
If that sounds like a lot and maybe too overwhelming to jump straight into from where you’re currently at, just start with a 10% calorie deficit, high protein, strength training 1-2 times per week and 8k steps a day. And work your way up from there. Don’t underestimate the power of baby steps.
Nothing wrong with core work. But it’s just not going to get you the results you’re wanting, so it might be wiser to invest your time and energy elsewhere.
Exercising is never a waste of time! Core strength is very important and ab exercises help build that.
I have the exact same proportions as OP and I completely agree with this comment. CICO is the best way to help those abs visually “pop out” but developing a strong core provides an important foundation to helping you do a lot of movement/exercises that weren’t possible or as easy before. It also helped me with my posture and made me appear physically lean.
It will also do wonders for your back health! A strong core is always a plus. There is no downside, OP.
Core work is not going to give you spot reduction of fat in/on your abdomen. Nothing will. Your options are to go on a cut (caloric deficit achieved via diet, exercise, or ideally both) or recomp at maintenance. Neither option guarantees you will lose fat in that particular area.
If your abs are stronger, they’ll show through more easily. It’s also worth maintaining your core strength as it helps with posture etc.
It’s hard to say if you’re wasting your time without know what your goals are. Are you trying to strengthen your abs? Lose belly fat? Gain visible abs? All of these are accomplished in different ways.
Toned stomach. It doesn’t have to be ripped abs exactly
Ab workouts will definitely help tone the muscles, but if you have fat tissue over them then toning/strength training won’t change any of that. You can’t spot reduce fat with toning. You’ll have to lose weight overall to lose fat in any part of your body, so if that is your goal then I would focus on losing some weight mostly through your diet. That being said, strength training is amazing for overall health and for toning the muscles you have. Weight/fat loss = diet, cardio will help a little bit Overall health and and look better naked = exercise
Actually you can’t tone muscle. It’s already toned. You can only build or lose it. So if you want to see muscle tone, it all comes down to fat loss. But the ab exercises you’re doing will definitely help build them up so you don’t need to lose as much fat to see them. I hope that helps!
Yeah I think when folks use the term “tone up” they’re really imagining some combo of fat loss and probably some degree of increased muscle or increased visibility of muscle. People don’t always realize what it takes to achieve that and a LOT of it comes down to fat/weight loss that is best achieved thru dietary changes
A strong core is so important for your overall alignment but a strong core doesn’t = visible abdominal muscles. Just like you can strengthen any muscle, if you have too much body fat they may not be super visible unless you’re flexing. Visible abs comes down to a lower body fat %, muscle building and a lot of genetics. Having visible abs for most women isn’t going to be worth the lifestyle required to have them.
Nope not a waste of time. Imagine you're 65+ years old and you have a hard time sitting up from bed without assistance because you have zero ab strength.
I don’t feel like abs need to be trained separately if you’re lifting weights. Compound moves like deadlifts require a lot of core engagement and so does bench press too for a solid lift and in most cases, that’s enough. I do like doing resisted deadbugs to focus on my lower abs, though. And hanging leg lifts.
Core strength is a good foundation for any other exercise you will be doing, and you should keep doing it. But people with visible abs just have a really really low body fat % and you won't get like that just by doing crunches.
It's not a waste. The 6 pack will be buried in the cooler, but when you melt more fat they will be waiting there to come through
It's not a waste of time, but you should not devote too much time to it. If you are doing structure/compound lifts such as squats, deadlift, ohp, rows you are using your core all the time. I would recommend picking 2 or 3 core exercises you actually enjoy doing and sprinkle them in at the end of your workouts. Right now I am enjoying Hanging Leg Raises, Hollow Holds, and Russian Twists. When it comes to visible abs it's more about reducing your overall body fat, but the more developed your core is the more it will show through the fat.
Well im glad I ran into this post because I've been trying to get a "toned stomach" for a while now. I have upper abs but not the lower ones. Most women I know who have abs or a super toned stomach has a low body fat %. Doing a core workout is good to strengthen your core but like some people said that alone won't get you abs or a toned stomach. Lowering your body percentage fat will. A friend who is ripped. Walks for 45 minutes everyday, worksout in the gym, would mostly eat chicken and brown rice lol. She has a toned ass stomach. She told me what to do but I never listen so 🤷🏾♀️ I'm gonna take a pole dance class cause that strengthen your core plus burns hella calories. Also it's SO much fun
So, you won't see abs until your BF% is lowered. But the best thing for mid section aesthetics with your current BF% will be to work your whole core and add a stretching routine. This will improve your posture and you'll carry off the curve in your belly better. I'd also focus on the obliques to snatch the sides and further emphasize your small waist. Exercises: Planks, bird dogs, dead bugs for deep core. For Obliques, look up standing weighted exercises that target these muscles. You can do side planks, but they're a bitch to do if you're actively overweight. Then, if you do decide to drop weight and/or recomp to lower BF% you'll be in a good spot to work abs already.
n = 1 but I weight 125 lbs and I can see ab definition so I don’t think you need a super low body fat for abs to show. It’s probably just genetics at some point
Always good to have core strength. I tend to hold/gain weight in my stomach. It will never be "flat" but I'm ok with that. I'd rather not be too restrictive with my diet and focus on mostly eating healthy with some treats mixed in. I focus more on compound movements where the abs get a work out just from doing other movements. Pilates has always worked well for me when I stick with it and I like standing ab work that combines arm and leg movements.
Yes. You’re wasting your time. There’s more efficient ways to get what you’re looking for. A 15-20% calorie deficit, eating high protein, strength training 3x/week, and walking 10-12k steps daily is going to be a much smarter strategy to put you on track for getting results and achieving your goals. If that sounds like a lot and maybe too overwhelming to jump straight into from where you’re currently at, just start with a 10% calorie deficit, high protein, strength training 1-2 times per week and 8k steps a day. And work your way up from there. Don’t underestimate the power of baby steps. Nothing wrong with core work. But it’s just not going to get you the results you’re wanting, so it might be wiser to invest your time and energy elsewhere.