At 55+ is it even possible to show a six pack?

[Crowbob]

I'm avoiding this thread because you know what?

All you dickwads do not, repeat: DO NOT, look like what you think you look like when looking in the mirror.

Secondly, chicks have been doing battle far longer than we have with this stuff and are still losing.

So give it up, gentlemen. Go have a beer.

[Jolly Amaranto]

I'll drink to that.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

All I have with no shirt on is this photo from when I was 17. The 6 pack started to recede into the "comfort" padding a decade or so after that. I don't think anyone wants to see my old man moobs. I love my groceries but I do remain quite active. Took a long time to get my heart rate up to 135 bpm during my last stress test at the cardiologist a few weeks ago.

Jolly, but where are the chicks?

Interesting but I'm having a stress EKG as well this Friday. As a rule, when doing cardio I usually aim for the 125-140 bpm level so I should be ok....fingers crossed...

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Hey, I'd say you're in very good shape for mid 50s. I imagine there are a lot of people who would trade for what you have. Keep up the good diet and calorie burning activities on as regular a basis as you can. It takes guts to show your gut on here.

Thanks a lot Marv, but at 74, you are still DA MAN!

At 56.5 I still really enjoy a good solid work out with weights, both free weights and machines though I'm more into circuit training now rather than pure strength training as my joints now take a lot longer to recover if I go for max weight. Plus the risk of injury worries me too. I usually do 3 weight days (45-60 minutes) plus 2-3 cardio days (20-30 minutes elliptical) per week. My main problem is that though I eat fairly well, I love my wine/rum so the 6 pack will prolly not come back....

[fintstone]

From your posts, most of you are taller, weigh less, and have smaller waists than I do...so, hats off to you guys. If I am a bit dehydrated and have worked out recently...you can see my ribs and some pretty good definition on my stomach though. I do not have much hair on my chest or stomach and think I look pretty good without a shirt or in a tank top...but look chubby in other clothes unless with men my age who are mostly much worse (couch potatoes).

[stuartj]

I like beer. Lots of beer, and wine and cheese and I really really love bread. But, in my 40s I realised I was headed for the same heart attack that my daddy and his daddy had. "We" are bigger and fatter now than we have ever been.

You can get really scientific about this, and everyone has their own approach - but it boils down to this basic equation. Calories in, calories out. Sugar, carbs and processed foods are the enemy. And we eat too much, all the time. An important part of flicking the mental switch, for me anyway, was the realisation that its OK to be hungry. In fact, its good. I still drink too much beer and eat too much Roquefort cheese, but I balance that with a bicycle and weights (particularly good for we men of certain age). I'm now 20kg (50pds) lighter than i was, and working on the last five. I dont claim a six pack, but I feel fitter and healthier now than I ever have.

My little axiom - There were no fat bastards in Changi.

[Crowbob]

I'm a little guy. But in High School I managed to weigh in at 130# and could bench press twice that.

Now a coupla swings of the great pendulum of life later I...

...What we were talking about?

[Jolly Amaranto]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

Jolly, but where are the chicks?

They were back at the dock feeding potato chips to the sea gulls. We kept drifting farther out until they cranked up a motor boat and came out to "rescue" us. You can see the life boat way out left of center.



Well, time to get out on my bike and burn off some comfort padding that is covering my abs.

[Oracle]

Here's something for those who care showing a 6-pack, your host George Bush!

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by impactbumper

6 PACK is overrated. It happens through diet. There is no core exercise that will give you 6 pack.

No core exercise will give you a 6 pack? Really?
.
Regarding sit-ups...my ex g/f was a personal trainer and advised me on how to do sit-ups for core work and to get a 6 pack.
No need to sit up and touch elbows on knees, or finger tips on toes, etc. No need to put hands behind your head, either.
Lying on your back, arms across your chest, knees bent, just raise your shoulder blades off the floor, stay there until you burn like hell, then repeat. Also, she said to suck in the gut and imagine you were touching the inside of your spine with the inside of your abs, then do the above lifting of your torso. Apparently that "touching" of abs to spine maneuver was integral.
.
Also, best way to build muscle is to tire it (them) out first, then work it (them).
Make them bleed, then days of good rest and tons of water. It's the rebuilding of the muscle after it's been traumatized that renders bulk and definition.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

They were back at the dock feeding potato chips to the sea gulls. We kept drifting farther out until they cranked up a motor boat and came out to "rescue" us. You can see the life boat way out left of center.


Well, time to get out on my bike and burn off some comfort padding that is covering my abs.

Ah, I knew there was a story here.....4 dudes on a sailboat "dead in the water" while the chicks are safe ashore....makes perfect sense to me...lol!

[cabmandone]

No Carbs is key. I did a 5 day circuit with 1 hour of cardio daily for almost a year and never had a 6 pack. 6' tall 175. The belly fat is always the last to go. I like beer, pizza, potato chips...... and to me a 6 pack isn't worth getting rid of my 6 pack and the rest of the stuff I enjoy.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

No core exercise will give you a 6 pack? Really?

I'd say "yes... really" You can do core till you're blue in the face and if you don't eat right and cut back on carbs... Now 6 pack for you!
My normal daily routine included abs at the end of each workout. Cable crunches, decline crunches, hanging leg lifts, and a nice dose of Pilates at the end. Never once did I get or even come close to having a 6 pack because my diet sucked.

[Don Ro]

It goes w/o saying.
You must get rid of the redundant flesh/fat layer which lies between your abs and your skin.
But you must have your abs developed/defined, as well, for there to be anything there.
Duh!

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Oracle

Here's something for those who care showing a 6-pack, your host George Bush!

One very long info-mercial, but I agree with most of it.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

It goes w/o saying.
You must get rid of the redundant flesh/fat layer which lies between your abs and your skin.
But you must have your abs developed/defined, as well, for there to be anything there.
Duh!

strengthening your core will make you abs bigger, but if you have fat under your skin, it does not matter at all. So yes. Drop wight, lose fat, thinner skin, your abs will come out. Having said that, strong core helps a lot with other parts of body development as well. You can do 5000 crunches a day, but if you are not under 8% fat you wil not have visible abs. Period.

Once again, I have done this for two long, I know what I am talking about.

[Don Ro]

We're in agreement, it appears.
Over 'n out.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by kach22i

A six pack is too hard to maintain without losing muscle elsewhere. Been there, done that, people said I was too skinny then (early 20's).

This is something a lot of people forget or don't know. The people in pictures with a six pack that are over 35 or so look like that for the picture - bodybuilder, fitness models, and trainers don't look competition ready all the time; the most disciplined stay at a point where they can get there with 4-6 weeks notice. Prolonged periods at 5% body fat or less makes for a miserable existence, and no one does it.

[kach22i]

I think I discovered how to get my tummy flatter, at least temporarily.

The middle area between my chest and gut (solar plexus region) is where I typically feel self conscious about, it just seems to stick out.

I mostly fault my stout frame and large rib cage, but running/sprinting seems to flatten it right out - including the bloating which surrounds it.

It was a beautify day yesterday, after my 75 minute free weight workout I walked for an hour, and this included a little sprinting up a hill in a county park. Then for dinner I had a berry/spinach smoothie with a big scoop of hemp fiber in it (for the protein).

When I got off the toilet this morning I was a new man, seemed like pounds lighter - left it all behind me you might say. And my stomach is really flat now.

I would not call this constipation, but it comes close in that it's about the digestive track.

A friend told me running helps flatten my tummy because it helps move things though my intestines. I think there is a lot of truth to this.

I did some research yesterday, some things which lead to bloating because air gets trapped behind those intestinal logs are:

1. Gaseous foods (many of them good for you, but consume in moderation).

2. Smoking causes you to suck in air and interferes with digestion causing bloat.

3. Drinking with a straw will make you suck in air.

4. Carbonated sodas will bloat you, but seltzer water will relive pressure while causing you to burp - go figure.

Many more things on those lists, 10-30 items long.

My point being, looking at those male models as a guide is probably not realistic as they most likely clean the pipes out thoroughly before a photo shoot.

[2porscheguy]

kach I agree with you 100%! If I haven't had a good dump in a couple of days, the belt feels tighter and I look "fat" with no ab definition at all + the scale is definitely up a couple of pounds. When I do finally have said large chit, not only does it feel so good .....but also POP!....the belly flattens out and my blurry 6 pack re-appears!

OK, sorry if that was TMI but we're all grown men (and ladies) here, no?

Oh, and when I let go of some real nasty farts.......phhucken watch out!