I don't think they did "crunches" back then, heh. Upside down hanging sit-ups? Sit-ups with weights?

Geez, back in that day, they probably tied a mule to his shoulders and had them walk in opposite directions.

PIX?

Eh, I can't find pix 'cuz it was a brief snippet of a very old unidentified movie on the short feature "100 years of Film" on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel. Sorry.

But now that I think of it it seems maybe I have seen those ridges before on circus strongmen and the like from old B&W movies...

Are you talking about a six-pack stomach?

That's all crunches and yeah, maybe upside-down hanging sit-ups. And genetics. Some people look like that after minimal exercising, the bastards.

What exercises create those?

Any exercise that gets you below 10% body fat.

You could have abs strong enough to deflect a speeding bullet but if your body fat is 30%, you will not have a six-pack.

Yeah, I have those horizontal ridges in my abdomen. I got them from sitting on my arse eating icecream.

Of course, they disappear when I stand up ...

Good point about the fat, j_p.

And dg, that made me giggle.

Are you talking about a six-pack stomach?

Imagine a six-pack but with the horizontal cuts six times as pronounced as the vertical...

LOL, I wonder if any of this is real? (Warning: Pop-up.) Probably not:

TRAIN LIKE AN OLDTIME STRONGMAN!

How to lift incredible weights, perform legendary feats and build unbelievable Strength with the "Lost" training methods of the Iron Game Greats.

This guy from 1922 is similar to what I saw but not even close:

≡ Click to see image ≡

You could have abs strong enough to deflect a speeding bullet but if your body fat is 30%, you will not have a six-pack.

Yeah, LOL, I was just about to post:

Yeah, the thing is you need a low % of body fat for your abs to show. It's always funny when people think they'll get a six-pack just from crunches or from some gimmick bought from a TV advert. Aerobic exercise is more likely to give you a six-pack than crunches alone, unless you're already very thin.

But the guy I saw had developed the horizontal ridges out of proportion to the vertical in a way I've never seen. I'd love to know what exercises he did.

That's most likely genetics, not any particular exercise.

Cool thing: it looks like the old-timers often used stuff similar to kettlebells, which are coming back into fashion now. Like one of my favorite vegan athletes, Mike Mahler.

That's most likely genetics, not any particular exercise.

Maybe. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if he did something that worked his abs with heavy weight and low reps (in addition to cardio.)

Maybe you can find the ridges here or here. Good luck with the ridges, shane. I'd be happy with a three pack.

I'm drinking a beer right now! Surely that will help!

If beer was abs, I'd be freaking Jack LaLanne.

Dear Metachat, how can I get these abs? Thanks in advance! ;)

A little more seriously, though--jason's_planet has it (and, if I recall, you're into that Crossfit stuff, aren't you, j_p?) It's almost all diet and genetics. Plenty of Mecha folks, for example, are plenty strong--we've got active cyclists and runners and kayakers and whatnots--but few of us have great abs. (Not me, that's for damn sure. I've got some core strength, from bicycling and yoga and occasional bodyweight exercises, but I've also got a big beer belly. I like food way too much to ever be, y'know, ripped or cut or whatever (wow, those are violent adjectives).)

Heh, Jack LaLanne rocks. He's been around since I was a tiny kid, and he was "older" even then, one of my grandmother's heroes, always swimming while towing tugboats and such.

Yeah, my abs aren't quite ripped, but it never hurts to have some inspiration.

and, if I recall, you're into that Crossfit stuff, aren't you, j_p?

A little bit. I find it very interesting. But most of my workouts (for now) are straight weightlifting because I want to build up my strength before I start doing CrossFit.

I actually did do my very first CrossFit workout this afternoon -- a pull-up ladder. First minute, one pullup, second minute, two pullups, third minute, three pulls, etc. You can break them up into as many sets as you like, as long as you finish the required amount within a minute.

I aimed for seven minutes. I got three.

Oh, well. Gotta work on my pullups. That's all.

My grandfather had abs like those until his late thirties (after that not so pronounced), on a thin but all muscle frame. He got it from eating terribly normal Swedish* foods, uprooting trees with his bare hands and occasionally building a house with the help of his best mate and a hammer.

So my guess is basically, genetics** - no body fat - plenty of body use throughout life.

(* breakfast, långfil (a type of plain yoghurt) and bran, snack crispbread and cheese or sausage/ham or herring on crispbread, lunch & dinner could pea soup & a bit of crispbread again or fish and potato, pork and potato that sort of thing all very traditional foods. All eaten at the exact same time every day. He did enjoy cookies and home baked sweet bread with his evening coffee so it's not like he ever avoided fat or starch - he just spent all that he ate.)

(** doesn't apply to us girls, dangit)