help on ab exercise!!!

One thing to remember is that ab muscles are just like any muscles in the body. Unfortunately the stomach area is the first place that stores fat and the last place that gets rid of it.

If you want nice, tight abs you must:

Lower your BF (body fat) percentage by having a caloric deficit (as mentioned earlier). I recommend 500-725 calories per day when losing weight. This deficit should also be obtained through cardio. Your body will use energy from stored fat the best when doing cardio at an intensity of about 60% of your max hear rate...anything lower or higher will rely on other energy systems (which you don't want). Also, if you want your abs to show you must build them up...sit ups with a little added weight is ok...but if your gonna do 100 sit-ups/crunches a day the only thing you are doing is building up the abs ability to tolerate lactic acid (endurance).

Also: DIET IS KEY!! Count your calories, eat proper foods. Eat 5-6 times per day and distribute your calories carefully. If you know the total amount of calories you need to eat in a day you can try this:

30%/8.3%/25%/8.3%/20%/8.3%
1st meal/1st snack/2nd meal/2nd snack/3rd meal/3rd snack
This is the percentage of your total daily caloric needs for each meal and snack for the day. By eating
less but more often you are keeping your metabolism high. You can put your meals at 25% each if you like but since the breakfast is the most important meal I prefer to have it this way. By having the biggest meal in the morning you will be burning and using it's nutrients all day. The first meal is also somewhat of a metabolism-tempo regulator...think of it like starting a wood stove in the morning...you want it hot and you want it hot fast and you want to keep the heat up all day long by keeping it well fed. If you want to stick with two snacks you could try 25%/12.5%/25%/12.5/25

Hope I helped.

PM me if you need more info!
 
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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?
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I have one suggestion for you: CARDIO. In order to get abs, you will need to eliminate the fat that sits on top of your muscle. Every trainer I have worked with has always stressed that cardio is key. You should at least run, jog, walk, bike or even try the elliptical for 40 min 4-5 times a week. Abs are hard to maintain and obtain without this type of exercise.

It is funny you mention this, because I was just blogging about it. I think sit-ups are really overrated. You want a great crunch.. one that doesn't kill your back and neck. Sit-ups tend to target only one area of the stomach, leaving the lower half ignored. I always use an exercise ball. This has great support and it is fun because you can change it up. When I'm bored with it, I follow a few dvd's in order to get new ideas.

Also, watch your diet! For me, my food intake really dictates. If I eat unhealthy, I rarely ever see progress. Make sure you have five small meals a day (breakfast,snack,lunch,snack,dinner) and try to stock up on veggies, lean meats and even yogurt (studies state that yogurt may actually target stomach fat).

Good luck!
Heather
 
Abs

I've been a personal trainer for 13 years! Your abs do not need as much training as you think. It truly is mostly cardio and diet that will get your abs to show. Remember, your abs are a muscle, too, so too much training, especially with machines, can potentially cause your abs to grow! We don't want that. 50 crunches three times a week and some type of leg lifts, such as the roman chair three times a week is all you need. Cardio at least 30 minutes 5 times a week and a healthy diet with protein, lots of greens and a small amount of good carbs! Hope that helps!
Carla Haug
 
A simple and better exercise you can do is crunches. And, to make it more effective do it on a ball.

Bottom line?

There's better exercises than sit ups!
 
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training abs like any other muscle

I've recently changed my approach to training the abs. I completely agree in that cardio is required to shed the fat to make the muscle visible but I've stopped doing exercises at high reps and instead work my abs like any other muscle. I do 2 or 3 sets of various exercises with enough weight to make me tired. Not only do I want my abs to be visible (diet and cardio), I also want them to be stronger to perform advanced Pilate's and pole fitness exercises. I'm not talking huge amounts of weight, just enough to make 12 reps challenging. Does anyone have experience with this approach?

You can read more about this approach at:
 
You've got a lot of answers for this one and not really surprising as the abs are such a popular subject in the fitness world.

Firstly remember just because you are doing ab exercises it does not mean that you will reduce that fat on your stomach. The body works as a whole and fat is just stored energy, therefore to reduce fat on your stomach the most effective area to work on are your legs as they are the biggest muscle group in your body therefore require the most amount of energy. Anyway blah blah blah, onto the exercise.

Sit ups are a great exercise for the abs, however they are quite advanced and if you can't do them then don't worry because they are a bucket load of ab exercises that don't need machines. To describe them all would take a life time and without pictures or diagrams it would be really difficult to explain. I have about 8 of my favourites on my blog with pictures and/or video follow this link to learn more about how to do them
there are about 3 pages so make sure you look at them all. It includes some of the exercises that have already been mentioned but some others as well.

To help prevent that neck ache even when doing a crunch, concentrate on a spot on the ceiling and allow your head to drop back slightly. So that there is less head movement. At the start there is nearly always some neck ache due to the angle that your head is being held at. It is very rare for the neck muscles not to ache and over time they should strengthen, however if you are worried then only crunch up until the point that your neck begins to ache and then rest. Over time you should be able to build up the amount you can do before your neck begins to ache. Alternatively there are plenty of lower ab workouts that remove the neck movement completely and these are just as effective. They can also be found on the link.

Good luck and I hope I have been of some help.
 
theGOOCH said:
My ab exercises: Squat, deadlift, military press...and I think even pull ups to some extent
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Sure the abs see action in all of those exercises, but the core is just like any other muscle group. Just because you activate your quads as stabilizers during calf raises doesn't mean you don't do squats.
 
illiniphase4 said:
Sure the abs see action in all of those exercises, but the core is just like any other muscle group. Just because you activate your quads as stabilizers during calf raises doesn't mean you don't do squats.
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The abs' primary function is to reinforce and support the back, not to "sit up" There is a plethora of research to support not directly training the abs
 
theGOOCH said:
The abs' primary function is to reinforce and support the back, not to "sit up" There is a plethora of research to support not directly training the abs
Click to expand...

I disagree. In any instance where an individual is stationary any muscle is just a supporting unit and stabilizer. However, in most functional movements (particularly in sport), the core is far more active, and not simply a stabilizer, but in fact both a prime mover and immediate assist muscle in numerous rotation, torsion, contraction, and extension forces for the the torso and lower body.

As to the research, please post links.
 
you're allowed to disagree.

I'm really not invested enough to do a homework assignment to attempt to convince you. Check google scholar if you like
 
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The ab core's primary function IS NOT to support the back.

One learns this rather quickly when one learns the variety of muscles that make up the ab "core", and the primary purposes, functions, and support of the human body:



It also serves to potect vital mid organs when strong and developed properly.

Best wishes,

Chillen
 
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Chillen said:
The ab core's primary function IS NOT to support the back.

One learns this rather quickly when one learns the variety of muscles that make up the ab "core", and the primary purposes, functions, and support of the human body:



It also serves to potect vital mid organs when strong and developed properly.

Best wishes,

Chillen
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By support the "back" I meant support the whole structure of the torso, working with the back maybe my terminology was wrong
 
I do abs once a week and it takes all of 15-20 minutes tops. It is usually a mix of weighted decline situps, V Ups, Side Bends and Hello Dollies.

As far as the "sit-ups" are dangerous comments go anything can be dangerous if you do it incorrectly.
 
I admittedly take my "all compounds, no isos" approach to the extreme. It works for me according to my goals.

Some people in some sports need different types of isos. I'm just giving you my $.02 that many of us have decent sized abs from simply doing compound lifts (they do build abs, especially squats and deadlifts).

I'm still working on getting mine a little leaner, but I'm happy with the size and strength of my abs
 
yeah i have heard of that too! People who don't do any isolated ab routines and yet they have solid defined abs from doing other body parts! That is crazy!
 
fitnesssarah said:
yeah i have heard of that too! People who don't do any isolated ab routines and yet they have solid defined abs from doing other body parts! That is crazy!
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In the execution of other exercises (like the Deadlift, Squat, and MP), the ab core is indirectly used as a support function and assists in stabilizing the bodies core and is absorbing the weight being performed. It isnt suprising that the core gets developed through these and other exercises when one studies the overall function of muscle recruitment during these and other exercises.

Simply walking to your car the core is performing its stabilizing function of the upper body. Injure one of your muscles of your core, and one learns real fast just how much the core works during the course of a normal day, and it isnt just bending, twisting, stooping, sitting, or bending at the knee to pick something up from the ground, it also supports and stabilizes the body to perform other movements we generally take for granted.

I support doing direct ab work along with indirect ab work because of the "overall" nature of activity this sheet of muscle is able to perform.

The ab core is contains different muscle fibers as compared to the other muscles of the body (or a different set arrangement I should say), and is a high endurance sheet of muscle. It will NOT grow "like" the other muscles of the body, and "genetics" play a crucial role in whether one can develop this area to ones satisfaction. Do not misunderstand me, when I say they will mot grow "Like" other muscles of the body: They will grow and improve just like the other muscles, but they do not have the same "capability" as the other muscles do. I thought I needed to clarify that just a bit.


Best regards,


Chillen
 
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Chillen said:
"genetics" play a crucial role in whether one can develop this area to ones satisfaction.


Best regards,


Chillen
Click to expand...


Oh ^^^^ I'm screwed then. LOL
The Yeti is not know to have the genetics to obtain great abs.
 
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