You already know that diet is 90% of the abs equation and, yes, genetics play a major roll(yep, misspelling and pun perfectly intended!)too. But, you will never know if you have the genes to attain that definition if you don't give it all you have, right? So, step one will be.........you already know what I'm going to type. Diet and hydration. Clean it up. Choose foods that nature provides, not General Mills. Water. The formula for optimal water intake is to divide your body weight by half and drink that many ounces. But what's optimum for one may not be for another. It's all about what your body prefers! I drink a gallon of the stuff a day and I weigh 123lbs., 12% bodyfat, 5'6". Now, as to exercise. Your abdominal muscle(s) are stabilizers so when performing many exercises they are incorporated into action. They're being worked. If you want to hit them directly, some wonderful movements are weighted (weight plate or medicine ball) "crunches" on a stability ball, hanging leg raises, planks, cable obligues pulls. It's not about how much you do but about how well you do it. If proper activation of the deep seated muscles is not attained, the chance if injury becomes a problem as does wasted time. Remember too, that that extreme definition you see in magazines, etc. is a result of great lighting, make-up and "cutting" (extreme diet). The bottom line is, the results you obtain will be dependent on:
1. Genetics
2. Diet
3. Exercise
If you would like, I can email you a few things that may help you on your way.

wow- great response! thanks, I would love it if you could email me stuff to help me get on my way. I'm willing to give it all i can in those areas and i'm well aware that usually it's the eyes that are bigger than the stomach hehe. so work in progress!..

Mainly I want to make sure I do it right :)

I keep hearing that the stability ball works the best for abs and that you can work your abs every day.

Stability balls are wonderful! They're my "weapon" of choice! LOL Why would you want to "work" your abs every day? Would you "work" your biceps every day? Again it's not about quantity but about quality.

Send me a message with your email address Spirit and I'll send you some info.

That's the same goal I have, too! Although unrealistic it's something I want to try for anyway.

Like linpd, I'd recommend sticking to a strict diet, but its not a hard one. Try to eat as little saturated and trans fats as possible (unsaturated is actually good for you, as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated give you health benefits in certain amounts). Avoid heavy amounts of sodium too, as well as a lot of sugars. Sugars, though they seem harmless, actually get turned into fat when they aren't utilized. If you get into the habit of looking at the nutritional facts of the stuff you eat (which you may or may not do already, heh) it actually gets pretty easy to avoid bad foods. Try eating a lot of organic stuff that fits this criteria, and do it several times a day, i.e. five or six times so that your metabolism gets kicked into gear to burn fat. I had a list of good foods, but I can't find it right now, pfff. :P

Getting a six pack will take a LOT of work, and probably a lot of time as well, but with persistance it will happen.

By the way, I know about dieting but I'm not informed about the benefits of drinking lots of water. Other than helping you feel full, does it do anything else for you?

Abs are the one thing you can work out daily. So do so it won't hurt. Old school crunchs work great while actually concentrating on which muscles in your stomach you are working on to define. Foods to avoid are foods with a lot of sodium. I would suggest not eating food with more than 220mg and aim for most being 100 or lower. You must realize too that everyones stomachs tone differently, so be happy with your best. Please keep me posted!

you can work out your stomach 5 days per week and if you have a poor diet or don't do any cardio seeing moer of the abs will be a problem. Try to incorporate a cardio program on days you don't do your abs. It will help immensely. Also, try to eat 6 small meals per day instead of 3 regular ones. If you go to a restaurant, get the dressings on teh side for a salad. If you like pasta and rice and cereal, try to switch to "good" carbs which are;
brown rice, multigrain/wheat bread & pasta and eat oatmeal instead of corn type cereals. Half of it is diet AND other half is good excercise. Also, you need to shock your abs a bit. Don't do the SAME excercise each time. Your body gets used to it, and will not excel or be shocked into doing some other ab type excersise.

Because of rib placement in women they's a greater predisposition to orthopedic disorders than in men. Also, when one over does abdominal exercise there's a potential for a functional shortening of the iliopsoas musculature caused by the brain moving toward a "position of strength", (forward head posture and rounded shoulders. There's a science behind this stuff. That's one of the reasons I love my job! And this is also why I say quality vs. quantity.

Great! I'm going to repair my exercise ball! Also I find doing abs a real strain on my neck and have to be fussy how I do them otherwise I get a sore lower back. I do agree with what Laurie said about quality there.. and I'll have to look out for that! Anyone wanna come drill sargin me!. I've started doing a good ab work out today and once i'm over this flu i resume x3 a week cardio and I might try walking every-day as well as this. I'll keep ya's in touch- I'll be watching for ANY improvements don't worry lol. Are there any girls out there with a 6 pack I'm talking to? ..

what about...doing crunches lets say you do 100 adding a extra 100 every day do it like one day 100 next 2 then 3 and so on....and running about 2-3 miles everyday the only thing that isnt accomplished here is the diet i dont really know whats good and whats bad just drink water and more water thats about it...i get down on the eating and ive been working out for years and still i dont get a lean ass sic pack i get the form but not like that and i wont stop untill it does....;))

If you vary the exercises, you can work your abs 5-6 times a week w/o fatigue. There are a LOT of different muscles in there that can be worked in MANY different ways. Yoga, pilates, martial arts...they all work the muscles in different ways.

Just be sure to balance it out by working the back muscles as well.

Work in some cardio & follow a good food plan as well. Chances are, you won't be perfect, but you'll see improvement.

Ok great advice everybody I've been going hard but trying not to be too demanding on seeing immediate results!
I do however have one more question- is there a particular supplement for helping ab growth; like should I be taking protein powder before or after a ab workout?

And how long has it taken girls (who are naturally more of a slim/ectomorph build opposed to a muscley/mesomorpth build) to develop a decent 6 pack.

I am eating well/clean and having my complex carbs at lunch time and salads at dinner time so I hope I can lose the weight doing this? (of course doing the mini meals as suggested throughout the day)

look forward to some replies!! mwah!