I haven't trained abs in over 11 years. Well, except for once for about 5 weeks some years ago but only because I had a photo shoot to do.
But I trained abs from 3-7x per week for 8 years (high school and college) in the past with our coaches (in addition to regular swim drills) so I really have no need for it. Ever. Again. In. The. Next. 4. Lifetimes. Which as unorthodox as "muscle training" is for swimmers (and other speed type athletes) I have the fortune - or misfortune depending on how you look at it - to have coaches both in high school and college that believed otherwise. So we did a lot of enhancement specific muscle training. Back, abs, shoulders. But didn't do anything for legs or chest.
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/a...f_ckers-vascularily-280222-2.html#post3117799
The last pic here is from the photo shoot a couple years ago where I only trained abs for those 5 weeks.
I will let you guys in on a little secret here. Most people do NOT need to do ab training. Sure, everyone wants abs and they DO look good and make the girls knees weak, or the guys, depending on where you are hanging out. But the fact is that most people simply need to do nothing for them except diet. They will get enough work stabilizing the torso during squats and (heaven forbid anyone actually do these) deadlifts. Building up really thick abs is necessary or even desireable unless you have a big thick chest. Otherwise, over developed abs will only make your chest look smaller if you are like most beginners and trying to add mass to your chest. Likewise, doing direct oblique work will cut drastically into any kind of V-taper you are trying to build by becoming thick.