Problems With ABS:

Why Can't I build ABS?- Branden Henderson "Elite Fitness Studio's"

1. The most important component of a visible six pack is low body fat %. If you have too much body fat covering your abdominal wall, it won’t matter how many crunches, sit-ups or leg raises you perform. They won’t show. Solution: You need a diet or strategic way of eating that lowers your body fat. You also have to be okay with losing some weight. How much, depends on person and body. Follow a calorie window that’s connected to your height, weight, age, gender, and physical activity level instead of just “eating clean” and guessing.

2. An extension of number two. Eating healthy or clean isn’t the guaranteed way to lower your body fat. Eating in a calorie deficit is. Eating healthy and clean gives you the best chance to do so, due to the fact that clean and healthier foods offer more volume, keep you fuller and satisfied longer, and lessen your chances of overeating. But if you’re still eating too many “healthy clean calories”, it won’t matter. You’ll remain in a surplus, gain weight, and your abs will stay in hibernation.

3. Let me be clear: You cannot lose body fat in specific areas of your body by training that body part more often. It won’t work! The only way to strip the fat from your abs is by slowly and gradually burning it off from your entire body through nutrition, resistance training, and moderate cardio.

4. There is this notion that says the best way to hit your abs is to perform an insanely high amounts of reps. Some people go crazy and do more than 500 reps in a workout. Just because you feel it in your abs, doesn’t mean you’re being effective in your abs. If you are training your abs for a high-endurance, abdominal-specific sport, then rep away. To get your abs to grow, however, you need to stimulate them just like any other muscle group in your body. Would you perform 500 reps of biceps curls in one workout for maximum growth? Probably not. Try different rep schemes, 8-12, 15-20, 25-30. But don’t neglect the idea of using weighted resistance for that pop and definition.

5. If you only train your abs by doing endless crunches, you won't activate each of the muscles in ways in which they can grow. Like any other muscle in the body, the abdominals need to be trained from various angles and dimensions so they can really pop.
To better address your midsection, vary your exercises so you work each of the ways your abdominal wall functions.

6. An extension of number 3. Again, you don’t get to choose where fat comes off of your body. Your BODY does. This is why waist trainers, trash bags being worn around the waist and every other worthless device are all gimmicks and a waste of money. Our genetics also play a role in where we gain and lose fat. If you harbor most of your fat in your midsection than all is not lost. It may just take you longer than others to decrease body fat in that area. But it is possible! The key is to be patient and keep at it smartly and strategically.