help on ab exercise!!!

Q

quarternut

0
Okay...... i've been doing some exercise few times a week like treadmill, walking, cycling, and some gym. However, i found that most of the exercise i do are focused to my legs and hips, which i really need to work out a lot. But there is still one part i didn't really workout, that is my abs.
I asked many people wat kind of exercise is good for abs and everyone told me sit-ups.
THe problem is i tried to do sit-ups many times, but i just dun get the trick.
I can't even manage to sit up without having my hands lifting to the air. Plus, most of the time i dun really feel the stretch in my abs but i feel the stretch in my neck. I just can't get the trick of sit-ups. I'm also scared thati would hurt my back or neck when doing it wrongly coz i've already have back problem which is i have 'S' shape back bone coz of bad posture.
Do u guys know any simple ab exercise which i can do it correctly easily?
 
Your best bet is to join a gym and use their ab machines, they will have a variety of ab machines to use, for both upper and lower abs. It will take time to really notice any difference. You can't just target one area and expect that area to shrink, you will have to lose weight from your entire body. I go to the gym three days a week and work out for 1 1/2 hrs. at a time, doing a variety of exercises, legs, arms and abs. Hope this helps :D
 
i'm searching for an ab machine too in the gym. Unfortunately, they dun have. Therefore i'll have to do it without the machine. THe problems is i just dun get the trick of doing it rite.... it's difficult and i scare i would hurt my self.
 
Ask a trainer at the gym and they will be able to direct you to an ab machine that will work for you. They can also help with making sure you do it correctly so you won't hurt yourself. It may cost you a little more but I'm sure the results will be well worth it. I use a machine at 24 hr. fitness where you actually have to support yourself on your forearms then lift your legs up towards your chest, your actually in a standing position but your feet aren't touching the ground, your forearms are parallel to the ground. Good luck!
 
Here is what I do! I lie flat on the floor; legs straight; feet together. Slowly lift feet up to six inches off the floor and hold for like 5-10 seconds; lower slowly and repear! Seems to be working for me! It has taken a few weeks to see results! But, I am keeping at it! :cool:


Sunshine7672 :rolleyes:
 
If you're worried about hurting yourself with ab exercises, I would recommend adding supermans to your program. (At least that's what I call them)

Lay on the floor, stomach down, and lift your left hand and right leg. Hold for 10-15 seconds, switch sides and repeat. Do 2-3 sets to start off with. Also, the above post for leg lifts is a good way to work your lower abs.

Do you have acess to any equipment at all? Stabalizer ball?

Oh, I almost forgot... what's your goal?
 
Hmmmmmm forget the ab machines they will trash your body! start with stabilisation exercises then progress to ab exercises on the floor from there go to a swiss ball. unless you habitually sit in a chair and crunch forward using a heavy weight what is the point in doing that in the gym. Trust me it will do more harm than good!!
Shem Lopez
 
The pilates instructor at my gym said that using the ab machines does more damage than good.

I never used to be able to do sit ups or crunches without my arms flying everywhere... but practice makes perfect. The more I did it, the more my arms stayed in place.

Even if you only lift a little bit off thr ground to start off with, then as you get better, little a little more, and as you get even better you'll be able to hold it there for longer too. heh. That's what I did. :)

There's also an exercise that we do in our Body Attack class, it's a bit hard to explain but I'll try.

Lie on your back in the normal sit up position, put your hands in front of you like you're going to shoot someone! haha. Then sit up a bit, chin off your chest!!!! And swivel/twist your body to the right (like your shooting someone next to you), com back to the centre, then down to your starting position, and do it to your left. You may feel a bit silly, but it works for me, my abs burn after doing a few reps of these!!! heh.

Hope that helps :) :D
 
Sunshine hit a good one

SunShine7672 said:
Here is what I do! I lie flat on the floor; legs straight; feet together. Slowly lift feet up to six inches off the floor and hold for like 5-10 seconds; lower slowly and repear! Seems to be working for me! It has taken a few weeks to see results! But, I am keeping at it! :cool:

Sunshine hit on a good one at least for me. Another one like that same idea is to bring you legs up to your chest and back out in the starting position. Go slow and steady. I do 50 before my cardio then 50 after. If you have a bench to lay on it works good as well. I'm no expert but it's a good burnie for me ;) ...........m :)
Click to expand...
 
Karen Voight's Arms and Abs which you can get on ebay or half.com cheaply, shows exactly what to do & what NOT to do.

but maye you can get anothr abs video or dvd free from the library..........it's worth it to see someone demonstrate.....
 
Forget about sit-ups... And, you don't need fancy equipment.

BTW - Don't forget to exercise your lower back when working your abs... The atagonist muscles are very important and will help relieve pain and injury. You mentioned bad posture... building up all core muscle can and will help. You can work your lower back with hyperextensions (using a back hyperextension bench), straight-legged deadlifts, or even a rowing machine.

Now that lower back is outta the way... Try this:

When working out your abs, there are three main areas to workout (in this order):

Lower Abdominals - leg raises (as Sunshine mentioned) or hanging from a pull-up bar, raise your knees (legs bent) to your chest).

Obliques (side abs) - twisting crunches and or side crunches... Lay on your side, turn your shoulders parallel to the floor with your hands behind your head and slowly lift your shoulders and upper back off the floor. Repeat for other side. Also, you can do Tae-bo styled twist kicks to work this area out.

Upper Abdominals - standard crunches... Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Place your hands behind your head. BTW - Don't support your head with your hands... If you must, place your hands on your ears. Supporting your head can result in neck injuries. Once in position, lift your upper back and shoulders completely off the floor. Imagine rolling your shoulders towards your pelvis. Lower and repeat.

In addition to the three area workouts above, I do one final ab workout: It works the internal abdominal muscles. Lay flat on your back. Draw your entire abdominal cavity inward and hold it for 5 seconds. Try and suck your whole tummy area inside your rib cage. Repeat it a couple of times. This one is very hard at first, but becomes pretty easy with a little bit of time and workouts.

You can do core muscle (abs and lower back) exercises every 48 hours without injury or problems.

Good luck,
Rip
 
Hi. Kathy Smith's Stomach and Thighs workout will do the trick. She explains exactly how to do each movement in a controlled pace. It's more about control and breathing and learning to get your form right. Then it just takes off. If you do it a few times a week, depending on how much you need to lose, your stomach will completely tone up. You will reach down for your "belly" one day, and it will not be there. No kidding! Very intense, effective workout. You will absolutely feel the difference. Good Luck!
 
drop sit ups right off, they're a waste of time.

there's no reason why correctly performed movements should antagonise your back, just keep form good. crunches of any variety are the key, including reverse, incline, and hanging leg raises.

Treat abs like every other muscle, you dont need countless reps/sets and fashion-programs.

By the way, if you eat more than you burn you put on muscle and some fat; if you eat less you lose fat and muscle. Toning up is a myth, its just high levels of lean tissue with a low body %. And all machines at gyms are rubbish and a waste of their space and your time.
 
SunShine7672 said:
Here is what I do! I lie flat on the floor; legs straight; feet together. Slowly lift feet up to six inches off the floor and hold for like 5-10 seconds; lower slowly and repear! Seems to be working for me! It has taken a few weeks to see results! But, I am keeping at it! :cool:


Sunshine7672 :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's also good to scissor you feet up and down while doing this. In a controlled manner, slowly kick your feet up and down, without touching the floor.
 
Abs together with calves are the most stubborn muscles. You have to hit them really hard if you want to make them any different from what they look like now. That means you have to do at least four sets and as many reps as you can within each set. If you will really be doing this on a regular basis I promise you the results will show!
 
Importante! To burn fat in your mid-body you cannot get a fancy gizmo or just do situps/ab cruches like the makers of that fancy gizmo want you to believe. You have to eat a caloric deficit together with high intesity cardio/weight training.

I have shed a bucketload of weight and in that time there are guys in the gym who eat poorly, exercise intermittently and look the same/worse than when I started.
 
Hi, you may want to try the plank and side planks. The plank is like a pushup you hold at the top for as long as you can, except our resting on your elbows instead of hands You can find instructions and pictures for these and other ab exercises at SparkPeople.com. I don't work for them :) It's a free resource I use all the time. Be careful with exercises where your legs are full extended and your raising your legs off the floor. You could easily hurt your lower back if you're not strong enough or if you practice poor form which is often the case. Plank is somewhat error proof as long as you don't let your lower back sink.
 
quarternut said:
Okay...... i've been doing some exercise few times a week like treadmill, walking, cycling, and some gym. However, i found that most of the exercise i do are focused to my legs and hips, which i really need to work out a lot. But there is still one part i didn't really workout, that is my abs.
I asked many people wat kind of exercise is good for abs and everyone told me sit-ups.
THe problem is i tried to do sit-ups many times, but i just dun get the trick.
I can't even manage to sit up without having my hands lifting to the air. Plus, most of the time i dun really feel the stretch in my abs but i feel the stretch in my neck. I just can't get the trick of sit-ups. I'm also scared thati would hurt my back or neck when doing it wrongly coz i've already have back problem which is i have 'S' shape back bone coz of bad posture.
Do u guys know any simple ab exercise which i can do it correctly easily?
Click to expand...

If everyone you asked said sit ups, hopefully you are taking no other workout advice from these same people, because they are clueless. My daughter was griping about having a sore neck one time, and I asked her what she had been doing. She said her 'wellness/phys. ed teacher was making them do a lot of situps...yes, the old fashioned hands laced behind the neck style.

Let's just say I had an interesting and lengthy 'conference' with the teacher, and sit ups are no longer incorporated in the school's phys ed program.

Christ, I thought people stopped doing sit ups in the '50s.
 
SXIPro said:
If everyone you asked said sit ups, hopefully you are taking no other workout advice from these same people, because they are clueless. My daughter was griping about having a sore neck one time, and I asked her what she had been doing. She said her 'wellness/phys. ed teacher was making them do a lot of situps...yes, the old fashioned hands laced behind the neck style.

Let's just say I had an interesting and lengthy 'conference' with the teacher, and sit ups are no longer incorporated in the school's phys ed program.

Christ, I thought people stopped doing sit ups in the '50s.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but there really is nothing wrong with sit ups, done correctly.

Instead of convincing your daughter's phys ed teach to can sit ups altogether, you should have convinced him to teach the kids to do them correctly. Done correctly, sit ups are effective and perfectly safe.

The correct form requires the knees bent with the heels brought in close to the butt, with someone or thing holding the feet in place (the spotter). Arms should be: 1. down your sides, next to but not touching your body (for easier sit ups), 2. crossed the chest with elbows in against the torso (for moderate difficulty), or 3. above the shoulders, elbows bent, with fingers brushing the sides of the head (but not pulling the head) just behind the ears (for more difficult sit ups). At the starting position, the back should have a slight curve so that the lower back is in contact with the floor but the shoulders are off the ground, neck in it's neutral position with relation to the body, and eyes forward aimed at the knees. The movement should be slow and controlled, 1-2 seconds up as far as you can contract, and then back down slowly 1-2 seconds, returning to the starting position, and not allowing your shoulders to come in contact with the ground. Based on the age and experience of the exerciser, set/rep ranges can be anywhere from 1x10 all the way up to 4x50 and higher.
 
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