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abs not equal

skinnyrobin Posts: 224 Joined: 2002/05/10	2003/06/05, 10:17 AM you can only see one side of my lower abs-the other side doesn't seem to be trained properly! but i don't train any side more than the other! is this normal?
plfitness Posts: 198 Joined: 2003/05/25	2003/06/05, 02:50 PM What you are experiencing is actually quite normal. As we lose bodyfat & our abs begin to show it is common for portions to be a bit blurry, however as your BF% continues to drop this will correct itself. Also remember that the muscle in question, the rectus abdominus, is one large muscle & it can only devolop as a whole therefore it is impossible to overdevelop on side or the other through training. -------------- Patrick L.
skinnyrobin Posts: 224 Joined: 2002/05/10	2003/06/05, 03:29 PM but my BF% is 9%! are you sure its one large muscle? because it is definately visible only on one side. I practically have no fat on my abs, so i can feel the muscle pretty well, and only on one side there is a 'bump' of muscle...
plfitness Posts: 198 Joined: 2003/05/25	2003/06/05, 11:18 PM I am absolutely positive that it is only one muscle and unfortunately no matter what we do we can not change the shape of our muscles, all we can do is improve their size and muscle tone. You are right of the BF% issue so you should probably work on strengthening & toning. Now for the good news muscle tone is not the same thing as muscle definition, that is why at low BF levels muscles can still appear flat or smooth. Remember that muscle tone is defined as a partial state of contraction when the muscle is at rest or also known as "muscle readiness". It is unclear how to exactly train for tone & many people have many different ideas on how to do this so probanly the best way is to implement a periodized abdominal program using various training methods. To do this simple change your program every few weeks from high rep/low weight to low rep/high weight or even possibly using isometric training for a while & see what happens.I wouldn't worry to much about your abs becoming "bulky" as the abdominals are not realy capable of becoming too large & people with bulky waistlines are usually that way due to genetics & not training. In conclusion you probably need a little mor muscular developement to bring out the natural shape of your abdominals. Good luck! -------------- Patrick L.
tarab21 Posts: 508 Joined: 2003/03/31	2003/06/06, 12:19 AM maybe it's your obliques? I have a similar problem... my UPPER abs are much, much more defined than the rest. But I think that's fairly common so I'm not too worried.
effalunt Posts: 333 Joined: 2002/10/17	2003/06/06, 01:51 AM Mine are kinda crooked, acually, and they just get more obviously crooked as I get leaner!