I have been working out with a trainer twice a week and doing cardio and yoga 5x a week. I am working hard on upper body flab. I got the abs of steel as a supplement but I'm not sure its a good use of time. Basically I would have to be a lot stronger in other areas before I can do the exercises with good form, so I don't feel it much in the abs. There is a large section of squats and pushups which I end up feeling in my legs and chest and nothing in my abs.

Is it possible those exercises are working my abs but I just don't feel it? Is it better for me to concentrate on crunches and pelvic lifts until I'm stronger?

Hey,

You don't need to work your abs to see them.

Dropping your bodyfat alone is enough for you to see/feel them.

However, if you want to build peaks and valleys in your midsection, squats and pushups hit the abs indirectly, thus there isn't enough stress on the muscle fibers to cause hypertrophy.

I recommend training abs directly at least once a week, knowing that you practice yoga.

Janet Jackson swears by low repetitions (around 12) while Britney Spears trains her abs every single day with high repetitions.

I don't like Britney, so I will go for Janet

In my humble opinion, I would recommend that you keep on doing what you are doing, plus hit your abs once or even twice a week.

I hope this helps.

Loony

Thanks for your humble opinion, sounds like you know what you're doing. I'm not going for the muscular look, but my abs look like jello right now. I just want overall tone and to not be embarressed in a 2 piece.