A is for Abs

First off... Welcome!

It is here, the April A to Z blog challenge. Quick run down: Don't forget to check out the many awesome bloggers taking part in the challenge (challenge sign-up list) where each will be posting almost every day in April with topics that follow the letter of the day. This blog will be posting on topics that are found both in fitness and in fiction, so there will be two sections per post to make sure both areas are covered.

For day A with fiction and fitness, I went for a slightly obvious one: Abs

Fitness

Ah, the ever prominent goal of visible ab muscles. Well, okay I've never had that goal but at least every other day there are posts on myfitnesspal where people  ask how to get abs (in which case they mean how to get something like a  6-pack because we all have abs even if many are covered by fluff). That and they ask about thighs, glutes, etc. The popular answer for the ab question is one that tries at a little humor.

How to get abs? Fork put downs and plate push aways. Translation - eat less, also known as lose body fat. There is a little more to it as one can work the muscles in order to gain strength and make their appearance better if reaching that low body fat percentage required for their display. However, it is partly also on genetics and some may never reach the point of visible abs.

The days of the crunches are over though, or well, they try to be over. Some still hold onto them dearly, though even less do sit-ups from what I've noticed, though there are quite a few variances on the crunch that people do so it's still around. However, it's not seen as the way to the abs. The answer to the  previous question is rarely do hundreds of crunches. Okay, many still do crunches. In stage 2 of New Rules of Lifting for Women (which I'll be doing the first couple of weeks this month) includes 3 different forms of crunches, but it's not promising 6-pack from them in particular.

I'm not really gearing towards the visible ab goal myself yet. But I also said I didn't see the appeal of doing pull-ups or chin-ups as many have that as a fitness goal and now one of my accessories is the assisted chin-up (though I just pull till the top  of my head reaches the handles on it cause that's as far as the weights go and I can't pull my own weight yet, not even close). So, you never know.

Fiction

Abs can be found in fiction too (and sometimes they feel like a fantasy on their own, lol). Whether it's in picture form, description or added in to  spice up a moment, there is a chance abs may be mentioned because in many stories, the idea of a better character has an appeal. Okay, sometimes seeing the fluffy guy as the hero works too, there are many stories and body types will vary. Still, at times the physique of the character is important and that can include abs.

Covers are a place one might find visible abs in certain genres, like romance or urban fantasy, though their popularity varies. See the guy without a shirt showing muscle definition often though it may be a little less for the women. Visible stomach is common and in fantasy art, clothing is minimal at times but I haven't seen a lot of that 6-pack definition, though I don't go looking for it either.

Erotica, I can imagine, has its fair share of abs on cover and within the descriptions, but I haven't read much published to know the amounts. Either way, there are abs to be found and desired in fiction.

Fitness question: Do you have a goal focused on abs or do any work specific to training them?

Fiction question: Do your characters have visible abs?