Any tips for getting toned core?

[bugei]

This question may have been asked before, but does anybody have any tips for getting a toned core? Mostly I want to get toned chest and abdominal muscles. If you do have any recommendations, please be specific and say how many sets, reps, etc. I have been weight training for about a year, and most of my muscle groups are pretty well defined, I just wanted to know a faster way to get toned pectorals and abs. Thanks.

[eXcessiveForce]

Cardio, and high reps like 3 set of 100 with low weight.

[Robbie]

Diet,diet,diet...to cut up your diet is the most important aspect of your training,stay extremely low carb,no fat and very high in protein(at least 1 gram per body pound)...Make sure you are doing plenty of cardio,keep the weights moderate weight/ with reps in the 5 sets w/ 12-15 reps range...don't agree with 100 reps like above poster lol.

But your diet is the key bro.

[Builderofmuscle]

Why is this starting to look like a bodybuilding forum? If I wanted to discuss bodybuilding, I would have gone to the bodybuilding.com forum. And even there, they have a section for sports, that discusses training for sports. If you're training for martial arts, than why would cut pecs and abs matter?

[eXcessiveForce]

HI builder long time no see.

High reps like 100 rep sets are awesome, high toning, speed, and endurance in one package. Good for MA.


But everybody here seems to want to be "pretty" I guess they haven't gotten the scars from training yet.

[Broadsword2004]

Hey, just wondering, what is wrong with having nice cut pecs and nice defined abs??? I see plenty of professional boxers with them, no they aren't a necessity, but they are nice to have so if you can have them as well as train right for fighting, then fine I say.

Also, most of the people in here I don't think are training specifically for fighting, they are not professionals; some people just like to do general strengthening as well, to gain more muscle mass and also to get cut, but to be a good martial artist as well.

Look at Wesley Snipes; he is a 5th degree black belt in Karate and some rank in Capoeira; I don't know how good a martial artist he is, but he is pretty good, yet he is very lean and cut.

Also look at James lew, the martial arts stuntman, he is a martial artist who is very cut.

Getting cut isn't a problem I don't think, cuz I like to be cut; it becomes problematic if you literally want to define EVERY muscle in your body, yet be a professional fighter. That just won't work because pure bodybuilding training is for bodybuilding, not fighting. And pure strength training is for strength, not appearance. But for those who aren't professional martial artists who just wanna be lean and cut, not necessarily professional bodybuilder caliber, but lean and cut, I think that is fine.

Both bodybuilding and strength training have a lot of crossover, and if you do just general strength training for your martial arts, and throw in a few body-building movements here and there, and keep your diet in check, you should get cut I would think without affecting your martial art performance too much.

Also, even those who ARE training for professional fighting I think can still get cut if they know how to train right. It depends on the person's biology I guess.

[EmptyneSs]

lift weights. doing weightless workouts like situps and crunches are cool, but u cant do much for ur back or shoulders or biceps. u will look akward if u have a somewhat cut chest and abs, but a weak back, neck, and shoudlers. u want to make ur entire body cut and in shape, not just one or 2 parts .

u guys seem to think if u lift some weights u will turn into arnold like its nothing. if u are a regular or skinny guy, u will be lifting hard for years and wont look anything close to arnold. however if u lift weights and do cardio and use the machines in a gym, u will fill out, get cut, and get stronger and healthier. the only way u will ever look like arnold is if u take steriods and are already huge to begin with.

if u are a skinny or average person, lifting weights will make u cut because u wont have alot of fat to begin with, so any muscle gains u make can be clearly seen since ur skin is pulled tight over the muscle.


doing weightless workouts is cool if u want to stay skinny, sure u may get a little definition, but u still gonna be small. lifting weights is very important and it has so many benefits.

the only reason body builders get that big is cause of steriods. look at how stallone looked in the rambo movies. he was incredibly cut and muscular, but he wasnt big and bulky like arnold, he was slender, but had muscles and was very cut. thats how u will look if u liff hard and workout naturally.

[Broadsword2004]

Yeah, I meant being cut overall, not just pecs and abs.

What you said about Rambo/Stallone is true, about Arnold was only partially true; he did use steroids in his early days, but not in his later days. You can get big without steroids, it is just harder. You forget about protein supplements and stuff like creatine, which causes the muscles to retain lots of water, thus making them a lot bigger (though not stronger). But you cannot get like super freaky huge usually, without steroids (some can, though).

You are wrong on the bodyweight stuff too, if you do lots of planches, handstand pushups, muscle-ups, lever pull-ups, reg. pullups, and Hindu pushups, and single-leg squats, you will definitely get big. Look at professional gymnasts. They are far from skinny, but they do not train a whole lot with weights. They do bodyweight strength exercises. Remember, bodyweight works well too, you just have to do a movement that puts a lot of weight onto muscles, like the planche, or hanging leg raises with legs straight, etc.....those kinds of calisthenics, when done a lot, you will not stay skinny. If handstand pushups become to easy for you, you then switch to doing one-arm handstand pushups. You will build a crapload of muscle. But it will usually not be defined the way weights will make you. Unless you flex it. But for strength, except for a few areas, calisthenics are superior to weights in every way.

Weights top calisthenics in areas like lower back development and hamstring and calves development. There just aren't really any calisthenics that will really strengthen up your lower back greatly, or your hamstrings, or calves. hitting those areas with weights is the best thing. Also, single leg squats aren't necessarily better than barbell squats, however, they will provide you with a lot better balance and help strengthen your hip flexors a lot. They will give you very strong quads as well. But barbell squats are very good too.

But when it comes to upper-body strength, nothing beats calisthenics. Muscleups, planches, pull-ups, hindu pushups, handstand pushups, 1-arm handstand pushups, etc... will work your shoulders, triceps, biceps, and lats (upper back) overall better then weights ever will. A person who does those calisthenics will have a body capable of things the weight person can only dream of. And they will not have any small upperbody.

[EmptyneSs]

i dunno man, i kinda disagree. im a workout a holic and i think weights are best. i do all kinds of excersises too. weights is easier and gives better results and does it fasteri think. i do weightless excersises in addition to lifting weights, but i wouldnt rely on just a weightless workout.

[Broadsword2004]

Yeah weights are easier, they aren't superior though, unless you wanna start getting REALLY big; also they can aid in bodweight exercise. The barbell squat, although formally a weights exercise, is also a bodyweight exercise that has weight attached. Technically, it's probably no different then doing pull-ups with a weight attached to your leg. And those are very effective back builders as well. Believe me, if they (weights) were superior, then gymnasts wouldn't use mostly bodyweight exercises to build up their strength. Unless you are already big, exercises like handstand pushups and pullups and such will definitely build mass the same as using weights.

You just need weights for like the lower back, hamstrings, and calves usually, to properly work those areas.

Reg. pushups won't work too well for strength because those are more for endurance. I am a workout-a-holic too; I think your idea of a "weightless workout" is doing some standard pushups and crunches, etc.....of course that won't work, those are too easy. Remember, the core strength of the military soldiers is based on calisthenics, not weight-training. Remember, body-weight workouts multiple one's bodyweight based on how the movement is done. For example, a planche is so off-balance that it produces a tremendous amount of resistance for the muscles it works. That is how the calisthenics are superior. They allow one to not only gain the strength to hold certain body positions and do certain movements, but they also build muscle and provide basic strength overall that is very good, because those exercises are so difficult.

The best way to train is to do hardcore calisthenic exercises that provide strength weights never could, but then do weight training when the weights will build strength better in an area then the calisthenics will (like the lower back).