All things considered, here's the answer to the question: If your goal is aesthetic abs, it's most practical and beneficial to train your abs with a combination of medium reps (8 - 12, which are "heavy days") and higher reps (15-25, which are the lighter days).
Beginners: Start with 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions of 2-3 different ab exercises, 2-3 times a week. Intermediate: Aim for 3-4 sets of 15-20 repetitions of 3-4 different exercises, 3-4 times a week. Advanced: You can increase to 4-5 sets of 20-30 repetitions or incorporate more challenging exercises, 4-5 times a week.
Doing 100 crunches a day can be effective in strengthening and toning the abdominal muscles, but it is not necessarily the best way to get a six-pack. To get a six-pack, you must combine the crunches with a healthy diet and regular cardio exercise.
Your abs are an endurance muscle so you should be working at a higher rep range. That is not to say you can't mix in sets with heavy weight less reps for a more intense workout. If you want a 6 pack then focus on reducing your body fat %.
You can definitely do 3-6 reps for muscle growth, but depending on the weight and what you are doing, you might not be getting optimal muscle growth (like you said). If you feel sore and tired after a workout, your muscles are probably going to grow. But some programs are better than others.
If your aim is hypertrophy (to build muscle), the sweet spot is 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps.
TO RECAP, these are the rep ranges you should be considering: Reps in the 1-5 range build super dense muscle and strength. Reps in the 6-12 range build equal amounts of muscular power, strength, and size. Reps in the 12+ range primarily build muscular endurance and size and also cardiovascular health.
You can train your abs in a mix of heavy (5 to 10 reps), moderate (10 to 20 reps), and light (20-30 reps) ranges, depending on how your body responds and what type of exercise you're doing. Like any other muscle group, be sure to incorporate progressive overload (adding weight or reps) so you keep seeing results.
Challenging your ab muscles consistently with a variety of exercises will make your abs stronger. Some of the most effective ab workouts are the plank, mountain climbers, roll up, and bicycles.
Lifting lighter weights with higher reps helps tone muscles and build muscular endurance and strength. Compared to lifting heavy weights, light weight and bodyweight movements don't cause muscle fatigue as quickly, allowing you to perform repetitive motions for a greater period of time.
How Many Situps Should You Do Every Day? Everyone has different goals, fitness levels, and circumstances, but maxing out at 40 situps daily is a fair goal for most people, says Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.
For novice and intermediate fitness enthusiasts, training your abs at least three times per week will do the trick. Implement targeted ab moves such as crunches, sit-ups, planks, ab-wheel rollouts, mountain climbers, etc., into your routine.
Unfortunately, ab workouts alone won't give you a flat stomach. In fact, you can't target where you want to burn fat. You have to work on burning fat overall. To burn fat, you need to raise your heart rate and body temperature through medium- or high-intensity exercises, depending on your fitness level.
During your first ab workout, set a goal of completing 5-7 challenging sets and split them between two different ab exercises. Incorporating a variety of exercises will be ideal for proper muscle stimulation as different exercises (even for the same muscle group) will activate specific muscle fibers more than others.
While there is no single exercise that burns just belly fat, any exercise can help reduce overall body fat when done regularly in combination with a healthy diet. Abdominal exercises such as crunches or sit-ups do not specifically burn belly fat, but they can help the belly appear flatter and more toned.
Though many home workout challenges proliferating across social media promise abs in as little as 30 days, the experts say that amount of time is only possible if one is already close to getting them anyway.
Typically, as body fat decreases, the uppermost abs are the ones that reveal themselves first. The first tier of the pack is the one that will poke out and stoke your motivation to keep going.
Depending on your fitness level and body fat level, it may be possible for you to get a six-pack in 3 months with an abs workout routine that is body weight only.
Both Murphy and Higgins advise their clients to train their abs multiple days per week, but no more than three times. “People should [typically] train their abs directly two to three times per week,” Higgin tells BarBend.
Six-pack abs are seen as a sign of strength and excellent physical fitness that many women and men find attractive. The fact that elite athletes often sport a visible six-pack perpetuates that belief, but we also have movies, TV and social media to thank for it.
Yes, you can develop strong abs under fat. The rectus abdominis is the section of the core that forms the traditional “6-pack” look, and even if these muscles are strong, they can still be hidden underneath a layer of subcutaneous fat.
On the other hand, Sheridan says that beginners just looking to tone up might aim for a maximum of 20 reps per set. “If you can implement above 20 reps, there is a chance that you are practicing with light or easy weights, which will not help you improve or grow,” he warns.
It is more common do do multiple sets, especially if you are interested in building muscular endurance or muscular strength. For example, if you are trying to build muscle in your chest, you might do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of a chest press.
In reality, 50 reps are a fad because muscle breaks in the first few reps and the extra reps will only contribute to muscle nausea, fatigue, and injuries.