Honest question about ripped abs

[blood_drinker]

Im going off to brazil in 2 weeks .
Gonna kick in the north with hot mommas.

I forgot about cutting up for this event, and i did not start early enough.
I have two weeks.
I can already see my abs if i push the fat down.
If i keep up my diet (a few posts down the diet board) for 2 weeks do you think i will have abs by then?

Anyone's experience?

My abs are rock hard and very big, you can even see the midsection through the thick layer of fat.
5'4 165 lbs dont know bf%.
Thanks
blood

 

[johnny iron]

I think you can lose a little bit of fat in two weeks, but I don't think you'll get them ripped. I've never had "ripped" abs, but I have had them pretty damn lean. Lowest I've been was about 7% bf, not ripped but you can see my six pack. It helps to make sure you have a good tan if you dont' have dark skin already. Also, you might want to try some water manipulation techniques and see if that might help a little, but those are only good for a day or so.

 

[Nathan]

I agree with JohnnyIron. I could see my abs before beginning my cutting phase and I was at like 13%bf. After 4 weeks, I can see 'em better and my stoamch feels a lot tighter, but where I noticed the biggest difference was on my upper thighs, ass, and love handles. Those areas have lost the most fat by far. Bottom line, I'm still working to get my abs to really stand out like I want 'em to and I'm down to about 9% or so I think. I'm getting pissed off and anxious too, even though I've done pretty good so far. Don't know why.

 

[avenger]

I've had the same experiences.... very low bodyfat but the abs just don't get ripped...

maybe gear is needed to get that way... I'm about to give up!

 

[ccorah]

dnp is the only chance you got to be actually ripped in 14 days

 

[JB3]

I've had the same experiences. Fat is going to come off of your lower abs last! And there's nothing we can do about it. A true 6-pack only comes out if you're <8% BF, which is damn hard to obtain naturally. To be truely ripped as can be, you'll need to use gear, but that's beyond my moral highground. At least for the time being. heh.

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My $.02

[This message has been edited by JB3 (edited March 29, 2001).]

 

[Nathan]

Would you all agree that ultimately if you can naturally get below 10% bf (I'm at about 9% now), then there is a way for you to get down to 4-5%? Gear may be required I guess, but so long as it's possible, then dammit it's hope. I haven't been wasting my time yet (I've been dieting 4.5 weeks and have lost 3-4% about), but I'd really like to get bigger. I mean, I'm getting nervous that I'll get down to 6% in another 8 weeks or so (i.e. too long), but will look drastically smaller. My particular goals are to get down to about 6-7% bf then go back to bulking while keeping lean. Anyone else in the same boat? Damn psychological games. Low carb makes me feel so much smaller.

 

[Kahn]

As usual, I say drop carbs for three days and eat normal for one, then do it all over. Keep your calories where they are supposed to be. Add cardio. Two weeks is three trips through the diet cycle and you'll lose about 12-15lbs.

 

[JB3]

I like Kahn's suggestion of rotating carb/non-carb days, but 3 days w/o carbs would drop my energy level through the floor. Maybe one day no-carb, one normal; or two days no-carb, one normal. That's just me. And there's no way in hell you're going to drop 12-14 lbs of fat in two weeks. Three to four at the most; the rest is just water.

Nathan,
You can't "bulk" w/o gaining some fat. You can try and eat maintenance calories with sufficient protein and attempt to slowly gain muscle w/o fat gain, but it's not the most efficient way of doing it.
If you track your progress (calipers once every week or two) and accept SOME fat gain, you'll optimize muscle gain. For example, accepting some fat gain will probably allow you to gain 2-4x's as much muscle. Then you can simply diet for two-thre weeks and drop those couple pounds of fat.

------------------
My $.02

 

[Nathan]

Yeah, that's what I usually do JB3. It works OK. I have no problem eating really clean so hopefully that'll help too. So you still think 500cal/day above maintenance is best? Actually, I also find that cutting carbs out completely about 3-5 hrs. before bed goes a long way to keeping fat off.

 

[blood_drinker]

what if you workout?
WTf, no post workout carbs~?!

 

[Nathan]

Since I started cutting carbs out before bed my schedule allowed me to train earlier in the day, so postworkout carbs weren't a problem. Actually, this summer I'll have to train after work so I'll have to have carbs at night then, but my very last meal right before bed will be carb free.

 

[Kahn]

When you drop carbs, you have the fat for energy. It has twice as many calories and that means twice as much energy. The energy problem goes away after the second trip through the cycle of dropping carbs for three days and you won't even feel it. No kidding. 3 or 4 lbs isn't shit in the three day cycle. It might be water but it'll be the fastest way to take off weight. I outdo any diet that anybody wants to compare to dropping carbs.

 

[Urlu]

I won't profess to be an expert, but I was in the same boat as you in December last year.... I was ready to go to Canada for a holiday, but my previous dieting attempts had been flawed with carb binges every three days or so when I couldn't handle the cravings anymore.

So in the last two weeks, I cut out ALL carbs. And it worked for me!!

I know this goes against what most of the bodybuilding world says, but it really did work for me, and I lost a lot of fat and I got leaner in those two weeks than I had the ten weeks leading up to it. No supplements either. And the strangest part is, I believe I actually gained more muscle in those two weeks than I ever have.... including bulking phases. But it was very hard to stay consistent, and energy levels were the biggest problem.

This is what I did:
First thing in the morning before anything else, I had a cup of black coffee. Then I went to the gym, trained as heavy as I could, and did 20-30 minutes cardio at the end. Then, post-workout, I had the only carbs I would have all day.... which was maybe one glass of juice, or a piece of fruit, or a slice of bread or a rice cake. Not much.

Then throughout the day, I would have maybe 6 meals (I didn't have strict meal-times) of either: grilled chicken, steamed fish fillets, grilled beef, canned tuna or egg whites. I didn't count calories or protein.

Then most nights (but not all) I did some cardio (just fast walking) for 20-30 minutes about an hour before bed, after I'd had my last meal for the day.

Most people will probably say you'll lose a lot of muscle doing this, but I didn't notice any muscle loss. In fact, I felt fuller and harder than I ever had. Perhaps if you did it for longer than two weeks you'd lose muscle, I don't know. I'm only going on my experience.

The only problem, and what made me eventually stop, was energy levels. After a while, I think my glycogen levels went down to none.... and any physical activity (even getting up out of a chair) felt like I was running a marathon. I was exhausted 24/7. And towards the end I could barely climb a flight of stairs without thinking I was going to pass out, so that's when I stopped.

But if you want quick results, that's my suggestion. It may not work for everyone, and my sincere apologies if it's a disaster for you, but it worked for me.

Good luck with it.

 

[Urlu]

Oh yeah, one other thing....

If you decide to try this, a little tip to curb cravings is (as well as drinking as much water as possible throughout the day) try drinking Diet Coke/Pepsi/whatever.... and chewing sugar-free gum. The aspartame is an appetite suppresant and helps you forget about your cravings for a while.

 

[Nathan]

Diet Pepsi is great (but so much good for you). I drink a fair bit of it and chew pant-loads of sugar-free gum. Just make sure to drink even more water than the extra you should be taking anyway cause it dehydrates the body.

 

[solidspine]

You and I are pretty much the same size.
I'm 5'5" 167 lbs and about 15%bf, My advice is start clen immediately and take it for two weeks and the third week your on vacation.

 

[blood_drinker]

dude man im 16.
i dont touch hormone altering substances yet.

 

[cozmokramer]

without some kind of AS, you just can't get ripped in 14 days... it will be hard even with AS