Thread: Triathlon trainee-core problem

Okay I have a little problem I need to get fixed, hopefully someone here will help me out.

Currently I'am training 16-20 hours/week for triathlon (all cardio) on top of that I also train with weights x3/week. My bodyfat% is currently at 7.4%, however my lower abs still stick out and I have no idea why. And my obliques have no definition as well. From a training and performance aspect I probably shouldn't be worrying about this.....but it's driving me crazy.

My current ab/core routine:

Stability ball crunch: 3x25
Twists on ball:2x15
"cycle crunch":3x12
prone swim kicks:90secx6
superman:60secx3
hip extentions:3x12

This all isn't in order I usually jump back and forth between them all, and I try to do this all at least x3/week.

I currently have a dietitian who I see every month for about 2 hrs(who is very hot) and I'am fairly certain my diet is nearly perfect.

So anyone here have any advice, or have experienced the same problem as me? I forsee most of you will think my core routine is horrific, so please any suggestions or referances to websites will be greatly apprciated

7.4% bodyfat is pretty low though. I know genetics play a big role in how your abs look, and that is probably at least a factor here. As Dale said, it could also be a posture thing.Here is a good site to help diagnose bad posture if that is the case:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do...ydra?id=459379

Do a search for the rest of the article, there are 5 parts to it. The first 3 are diagnosis, and the last two are a routine if you feel that you have bad posture.

Also, your ab work seems quite excessive. 20 sets seems like a LOT of ab work especially when doing it 3 times a week. I do maybe 4-8 sets of ab work a week. I understand that some people like to work their abs a few times a week, but personally, I like to treat my abs like a muscle, and work them like.... any other muscle. I will also tell you that I have a lot of success using heavy weight for low reps on ab work, but many people prefer weenie weight/423525 reps, and that's ok too.