How Many Times per Week Should You Train Your Abs?

No, it’s not 7. This popular answer assumes that more is better. As we’ve seen in Abdominal Exercises Progression, it’s not:

This “volume-based approach” (doing more of what you can already do) is flawed. What got you results at first was doing something new–something you weren’t doing before. Now that you can do crunches and sit-ups easily, to define your abdominals more you need to go up a level and do something harder–something you weren’t doing before.

Since you will increase the difficulty (not the amount) of the abs exercises you do, your abs will need time between workouts to recover. How much time?

That depends on your level. In my six pack abs program, I recommend beginners train 3x per week and advanced users train 2x per week.

BEGINNER = 3X PER WEEK
ADVANCED = 2X PER WEEK

Can you guess why advanced users need more time to recover between workouts? They do because they train harder, since they (should) perform the hardest exercises.

One last thing: make sure you space your workouts by at least one day. Beginners could work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while advanced users could do so Monday and Thurday, for instance.

LEVEL Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Beginner WORK OUT DON’T WORK OUT DON’T WORK OUT
Advanced WORK OUT DON’T DON’T WORK OUT DON’T

Comments are welcome.

-CJ

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6 Comments »

  1. Comment by N00b ^^

    wow thanks :D

  2. Comment by Mckenna Wilson

    Interesting thoughts here… Is working out 3x a week enough to get a six-pack or should you incorporate cardio as well?

  3. Comment by admin

    Hi Mckenna,

    Broadly speaking, naturally lean guys (the “skinny bastards”) don’t need it, while everyone else does.

    The fatter you are, the more important it is.

  4. Comment by Cameron Rogers

    i’ve been doing Cardio workouts for about 3 years and it really helps in making me fit and healthy.~*.

  5. Comment by brian

    how many times should i do and then rest and then do it again

  6. Comment by Carl

    Hi Brian,

    I’m not sure I get your question.

    If it’s about the sets and reps, 3 sets of 12 reps with 1:00 in between work pretty well.

    I hope this answers your question,

    CJ

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