Do crunches really tighten the stomach?

J

Jung Mi

New member
I am kind of confused on how to get a flat stomach based on all the information I have gathered.

I don't need "abs", I just really, really want to flatten out my stomach. I heard that it's pointless to do sit-ups and crunches because they won't do anything if you have a certain body fat percentage. People recommend cardio, and I am doing that but even though I'm losing weight, my stomach is still very flabby.

Will sit-ups and crunches really help tighten my stomach? Or is it pointless?

Please help me! Thank you very much.
 
only if you have a beer belly. which is caused from loose lower ab muscles. you wont see you ab muscles thats all due to fatloss. but you can reduce a beer belly to a flatter belly with leg raises and such.
 
uh...i don't think leg raises are going to get rid of belly pooch. keep up with the cardio and be patient. we all lose fat from different places at different rates.
 
No, all the crunches in the world will not flatten your tummy. They will strengthen your core, which is important but the only thing that will flatten your tummy is cardio. It will take time, but don't get discouraged. Generally, the first place you gain it is the last place you lose it, so belly fat tends to stick around for awhile. Stick with it, you'll get there.
 
only if you have a beer belly. which is caused from loose lower ab muscles. you wont see you ab muscles thats all due to fatloss. but you can reduce a beer belly to a flatter belly with leg raises and such.
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Do you have anything to back this up? I have never heard this before
 
let me get a little more clear on this most people i would assume on this site are first timers losing weight and getting fit. and a beer belly is made up of one or two things, Fat behind the adominal wall which is really bad fat. or Fat ontop of the abdominal wall and a loose ab muscles.

to tell which one you have touch your stomach, if its hard and wont jiggle the fat is behind your abdominal wall, you need to change your diet big time cus this is the stuff that leads to heart disease and such. mostly in older folks.

if you belly is jiggly an flubbery. then chances are you have fat ontop of your ab wall and loose abs which protude. young folks.

now in the second case some lower ab movement will help tighten this wall. flattening your stomach but this doent mean you will have a nice mid section thats why you see. skinny people with beer bellys. or hot chick who you know work out and have nice stomachs that are flat but still look like they have a layer of fat on thier stomach.


im assuming jung mi is in the later group.
 
there was something I was looking for the other day ans stumbled into a great essay


Bottom line with those ab machines...

[FONT=verdana,arial][SIZE=-1]So... the BIG secret to reat abs... [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial][SIZE=-1]You have to have a low body fat. It's as simple as that.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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I'd be interested in seeing where you're pulling this data with regards to loose abs.
 
BIG_CHEESE said:
to tell which one you have touch your stomach, if its hard and wont jiggle the fat is behind your abdominal wall, you need to change your diet big time cus this is the stuff that leads to heart disease and such. mostly in older folks.
Click to expand...

My dad had a hard round belly and we never knew why. Well, he had a heart attack and died 7 months ago. Don't know why this has any relevance, but I have been connecting the dots!
 
a lot of men have big, hard round bellies. i'm guessing its because of the large concentration of fat. darkangell, i'm sorry about your dad though. :(
 
let me get a little more clear on this most people i would assume on this site are first timers losing weight and getting fit. and a beer belly is made up of one or two things, Fat behind the adominal wall which is really bad fat. or Fat ontop of the abdominal wall and a loose ab muscles.

to tell which one you have touch your stomach, if its hard and wont jiggle the fat is behind your abdominal wall, you need to change your diet big time cus this is the stuff that leads to heart disease and such. mostly in older folks.

if you belly is jiggly an flubbery. then chances are you have fat ontop of your ab wall and loose abs which protude. young folks.

now in the second case some lower ab movement will help tighten this wall. flattening your stomach but this doent mean you will have a nice mid section thats why you see. skinny people with beer bellys. or hot chick who you know work out and have nice stomachs that are flat but still look like they have a layer of fat on thier stomach.


im assuming jung mi is in the later group.
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Again, do you have anything to back this up? This sounds an awful lot like something you'd hear a highschool football coach tell his team.
 
I just don't get how muscles are loose.

Is it the musculotendinous unit you're speaking of that has some malady?
 
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Runningjunkie said:
No, all the crunches in the world will not flatten your tummy. They will strengthen your core, which is important but the only thing that will flatten your tummy is cardio. It will take time, but don't get discouraged. Generally, the first place you gain it is the last place you lose it, so belly fat tends to stick around for awhile. Stick with it, you'll get there.
Click to expand...

cardio won't jump start your metabolism the way strength training will though.

if you spend more time doing strength training and make sure to hit all of your major muscle groups regularly (notably your abdomen, upper and lower back, and your thighs/butt as they're some of the biggest muscles on your frame) you will effectively increase your metabolism, burning calories for hours AFTER your workout and not just during it... you're also not going to wake up one morning with a bulging six pack after doing crunches for a few weeks. it takes a lot of time to get that much definition and it happens all over your body, not just in target areas. so don't short change yourself and skip the crunches, situps and core strength training. make sure you fit those exercises into your workout every time.
 
Hey. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's just that you can't see the results of workign your abs out if you have layers of fat over them. So the cardio is to help reduce that fat and then you tighten up the muscles and voila! You've got a nice flat stomach. Here's an article that i think you'll find helpful in getting that flat tummy.

Top 5 Ab Exercises


Good Luck!
 
You explain that spot reduction isn't happening and then link an article for exercises to "flatten the tummy."

Me=confused.
 
Steve, as is with any workout regimen you can target muscle growth in certain areas, but it won't be seen under layers of fat. i advised cardio for all over fat reduction and gave some exercise ideas that target the tummy so those muscles will be toned and defined once all the "excess" fat melts away. the exercises won't be worth a damn if that's all she does, which i pointed out before hand.

still confused?
 
Don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I think my question applies here...
So, I read from a personal trainer on another site that the best ab exercises are resistance training for abs....so what would that be exactly??? What is a 'resistance' exercise for your abs?
 
SoCalQT2 said:
Steve, as is with any workout regimen you can target muscle growth in certain areas, but it won't be seen under layers of fat. i advised cardio for all over fat reduction and gave some exercise ideas that target the tummy so those muscles will be toned and defined once all the "excess" fat melts away. the exercises won't be worth a damn if that's all she does, which i pointed out before hand.

still confused?
Click to expand...

Yea.

I don't understand how a muscle tones or becomes defined. A muscle either grows or it doesn't.
 
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