General Questions

R

retired_Mr Normal

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Hi

I'm new here so hope I am posting in the right place.

I am 18, quite slim but not particularly muscular. I am hoping to get a decentish, toned 6-pac and was wondering the best way to go about this is. I have started doing sit-ups but can only do 20-30 as my back starts to hurt. Is there another way to go about this?

Also, do press ups help tone your arms much?

Thanks
 
sit ups suck. they work your hips more than abs. you need crunches and reverse crunches.

press ups...same as push ups? if so, they'll work chest and triceps. if you mean shoulder presses (with weights) that's just a shoulder move, and the triceps get used very little.
 
yeah sit ups are old school! I do do them with a medicine ball every now and then but yeah crunches are good. for a full range of motion you could purchase an excersise ball. to really fatigue the muscle group out do how ever many sets you do untill failier. then you can make a competition with yourself. to speed up results try holding a dumbell or medicine ball.
 
oh yeah, and no need to train abs more than 3x a week. start at 2x a week then add a 3rd.
go for 3 sets til failure. once you can do 20-25 reps without failure on the 3rd set, add a fourth.
at that point, if you belong to a gym, try hanging leg raises.
 
Just Wondering...are situps really that crap? because i know i guy whos been doing just situps for the past year and hes got a great pack no crunches involved. If they really are usless then should i focus on doing more crunches then situps?
 
your back is hurting because you are bending your back when you perform the sit-ups. If you do sit-ups with your back tight, which wont hurt your back, you end up working your hip flexors.

if you are skinny and just want to build up your ab muscles then read up on the web how to perform a proper crunch. If you have access to an aerobics ball i would suggest doing your crunches on the ball once you have mastered regular crunches.
 
Tim_14 said:
Just Wondering...are situps really that crap? because i know i guy whos been doing just situps for the past year and hes got a great pack no crunches involved. If they really are usless then should i focus on doing more crunches then situps?
Click to expand...

He has a six pack because his diet is clean and his body fat is low...not because he does 11,000 sit-ups a week :)
 
I used to do sit-ups when I first started training. I could hear my back actually "clicking" part way through the movement. I stopped doing them shortly after that. Now I do crunches on a crunch machine with a 45 kg resistance level (about 99lbs) for 3 sets of 15-20, they work a treat. Just gotta get the bf% down a bit now :D.
 
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