The Real Problem

At 160 to 190 pounds, your abs are almost certainly stronger than they look. The reason they are not visible has less to do with how often you train them and more to do with the layer of fat covering them. Abdominal definition is revealed through fat loss and built through training. You need both. Training your abs three times per week while eating at a caloric surplus will build a stronger, more muscular core that is still not visible. The visibility comes from nutrition being dialed in — 1,800 to 2,200 calories per day with protein between 130 and 155 grams. The keto guide for Slim Thick women and the IIFYM guide for Slim Thick women both cover the nutritional side.

Best Exercises

Cable crunches from a kneeling position are the most effective exercise for developing the rectus abdominis with genuine resistance. Set the cable at the top of the rack, grab the rope attachment behind your head, and crunch your sternum toward your pelvis with control. The resistance is adjustable, making progressive overload straightforward.

Hanging leg raises develop the lower portion of the rectus abdominis. Hang from a pull-up bar and raise your legs to parallel with the floor. As you get stronger, progress to toes to bar.

Ab wheel rollouts develop the transverse abdominis through anti-extension. Start from your knees, roll the wheel forward until your body is parallel with the floor while maintaining a neutral spine, then pull back with your abs. Do not let your lower back arch.

Dead bugs develop core stability without adding lateral width. Lie on your back, extend your arms toward the ceiling with knees bent at 90 degrees. Lower your opposite arm and leg simultaneously while pressing your lower back into the ground, then return.

Planks — front and side — develop the isometric strength that supports all your other training.

Exercises to Limit

Weighted side bends load the obliques laterally and build muscular thickness in the sides of your waist. For pear-shaped and hourglass-shaped Slim Thick women, avoid holding weight during side bending. Russian twists with heavy weight can visually widen your midsection — bodyweight only for these shapes.

How to Structure Ab Training

Train your abs two to three times per week at the end of your primary training sessions — ab training done first fatigues the core stabilizers you need for heavy compound movements. Three to four exercises per session, two to three working sets each. Add resistance or progress to harder variations when you can complete the top of your rep range cleanly.

What to Expect

With consistent training and nutrition at a modest deficit, you typically see waist tightening within four to six weeks. Visible ab definition requires approximately 24 to 28 percent body fat, which for this archetype typically takes three to five months of consistent work. Your lower abs will be the last area to show definition — that is normal for every woman in a pear or hourglass shape. Train the full core, handle your nutrition, and the lower section will follow.

Also read the Slim Thick Glutes guide and the Slim Thick Hamstrings guide — your lower body training and your ab training reinforce each other.

I train clients in person in Houston, Texas and work with people across the US, Canada, and the UK online through XPL. Take the XPL Archetype Quiz to get your exact training protocol, or visit xperformancelab.com/plans-pricing to work directly with me.

The standards behind the standards. — Xavier Savage, XPL Xesthetic Performance Labs, Houston, TX