Exercises for your Abs:

Discussion in 'Deadbear's Gym' started by cutelildeadbear, Aug 12, 2004.

  1. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    As I will state often, please only choose a maximum of 3 exercises for each muscle group. You do not need more than 3, and doing too much will weaken muscles and bones, instead of strengthen them. I will also repeat often, to exercise at your own risk. You are obtaining information over the internet, I am not with you and cannot train you "online", nor am I your doctor. I will post more exercises as I have the time. Feel free to add your favorite exercise.

    These are the exercises recommended by American Council on Exercise.


    Basic Crunch: In a lying position, keep your thighs perpendicular to the floor and bend your knees so that your lower legs are parallel, feet flat on the ground. Rest your hands on the back of your head for support (don't pull with your hands!) or cross over your chest and bend slightly at the waist, drawing your upper body toward your knees. Lower your body back to the floor to complete a rep. Do 5-25 reps per set, do 1-3 sets. You should feel this in the upper portion of your abdominal muscle and you should not feel any pain on your neck or back, if you do, then you are not doing it correctly. Do not hold your breath!
    Oblique Crunch: Using the same starting position as a basic crunch, angle the shoulders to either side to isolate that stubborn love-handle area. Do 5-25 reps per set, do 1-3 sets.

    Reverse Crunch: To target the lower abs, lift feet toward the ceiling (place hands beneath lower back for support). Lift the feet toward the ceiling in a slow and controlled movement using the pelvic tilt. Do 5-25 reps per set, do 1-3 sets.

    Stability Ball Crunch: Lie face up on a stablity ball with you back completely supported and head, neck and shoulders off the top end of the ball, torso parallel to the floor feet flat on the ground, knees bent and aligned over ankles. Tighten butt muscles to stabilize torso and place hands behind the head, fingers unclasped. Exhale as you curl your torso upward, bringing hips and ribs toward each other, keeping chin level. Slowly lower to original position. 5-25 reps, 1-3 sets.

    Straight Legged Crunch: Lie face up on the ground with legs fully extended and heels on top of a stability ball, hands behind head and fingers unclasped. Contract abs and press heels into ball as you lift head, neck and shoulder blades off the ground without allowing the ball to roll. Slowly lower to starting position and repeat.



     
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  2. Syntax

    Syntax Senior Member

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    Any of the above movements can also be done very slowly, for different and generally better effects. Try going from position A to position B in ten seconds, constantly breathing and moving at a constant pace. That is, in a situp, reach 45 degrees on the count of 5. Then go from B to A in 10 seconds. When you get better at it, extend the time to 20 or even 30 seconds. It also works great with pushups and any other strength and muscle building exercise.
     
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  3. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    Thanks Syntax! I don't get here as often as I should to post more tips. I can use all of the help I can get. Plus it is just so much easier to show people how to do the exercises than it is to explain it here.
     
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  4. tom

    tom Member

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    How do crunches and sit ups affect you differently?
     
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  5. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    I'm sorry Tom that I have not been back sooner to answer your question. Simply put, when you do a sit up, you are using all of your "sitting up" muscles. This includes your back and a lot of your hamstring and quad muscles (your thighs). But when you do a crunch you isolate the abdominal muscles more.

    Of course none of this makes a damn bit of difference if you don't do enough cardio to burn fat. Neither crunches or sit ups will move the fat off. But lets just assume that you don't have much fat there, and you just want to tone. You would probably benefit from doing both exercises along with some others if you are going for that 6 pack ab look.

    I personally do both. I do a regular sit up on the stability ball and I do my crunches on the floor mat. I also do a reverse crunch and oblique crunches.

    No, I still do not have a 6 pack, nor do I want one.
     
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  6. HonkyTonk

    HonkyTonk Member

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    Reverse crunches? Those are excellent and weren't mentioned.
     
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  7. Mononucleosis

    Mononucleosis Member

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    crunches that as you go up spread your legs, down close them (legs are in air by the way)
     
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  8. IronGoth

    IronGoth Newbie

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    Jesus.

    Here are some

    Ab wheel rolls: Get an ab wheel (a small wheel with a handle on each side - about $5) and start on yr knees, first. stretch out til you're almost flat against the ground, and then pull back up with your abs into a kneeling position. Once you can do this, try it from a standing jackknife position.

    Janda situp: You NEED a partner. Get into your classic situp posish - bent kneed. THIS is crucial. Get someone to put his/her hands BEHIND your calves - and then you try pulling your calves towards your buttocks while he holds em still. At the same time, crunch the buttocks as hard as you can and THEN sit up. Just as how you cannot flex your bicep and tricep the same time, you can't fire your hip flexors and your glutes. So this will use JUST your abs. If you don't pull back hard and you don't crunch your buttocks you'll just be doing a situp, which will be easy.

    Crunches are teh suck.
     
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  9. _orgazmik_

    _orgazmik_ o_O

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    I have an ab wheel.. whoo hoo!
     
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  10. IronGoth

    IronGoth Newbie

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    Try it then.

    Trust me, when you're doing a full back squat with over 500lb, you NEED solid abs or else you'll get jackknifed, pancaked and generally hurt.
     
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  11. hippieatheart

    hippieatheart vagina boob

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    hey thanks for posting this!! i've been wanting to do different exercises to get my abs back in the shape they used to be but wanted to find out different things besides crunches. thanks!!
     
  12. IronGoth

    IronGoth Newbie

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    You're more than welcome.
     
  13. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    I highly doubt that the average person coming to these forums is squatting over 500lbs. I post exercises for beginners because I don't want to take responsibility when someone really hurts themself trying things out that they find on the internet. Most of the exercises that I post are simple and widely used in the fitness industry.

    I'm not saying that your exercises are wrong or bad, I do things completely differently in my own routine, including the ab roller, but just remember who you are talking to here. Everyone isn't on your level.



     
  14. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    Here are some more:

    Planks: Lie on your stomach, elbows bent and positioned underneath your shoulders. Make your hands into fists, one holding the other. Draw your abdomen in toward your spine, squeeze your glutes and lift your body up onto your forearms and toes. Keeping your abs drawn in, chin tucked, and your back in a neutral position (not arched), hold the position for 60 seconds, relax and repeat. As you become stronger, increase the time you maintain each repetition.
    Side Planks: Begin by lying on left side. Bend your left elbow and place the forearm on the floor directly under your shoulder. Your weight should be supported on the forearm and the left hip. Your right arm should be resting along the right side of your body with the hand resting on the right thigh.
    Rise up so your body weight is resting on your left forearm and the edge of your left foot. Lift your body up as high as you can and contract your abdominal muscles by bringing navel to spine. Slowly lower your body back to the floor, then immediately rise as high as you can and hold it again. Repeat on the right side.

    Also, with the crunches mentioned above, you can add a weight plate or medicine ball to increase difficulty.
     
  15. squawkers7

    squawkers7 radical rebel

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    Click here to start!

    Flat Abs Exercise: Rollover



    Try Denise Austin's special rollover exercise, a mat exercise that will get you tight abs in no time. This lower-tummy exercise is excellent for sculpting flat abs. Denise's ultra beneficial lower ab exercise strengthens abdominal muscles and the curling back movement will help you get and maintain flat abs. While this mat exercise is a lower-tummy exercise that concentrates on those trouble spots below the navel, it's also part of Denise Austin's mini routines. So try the rollover exercise. Once you do, it will soon become one of your favorite lower ab exercises. Get flat abs with Denise! [​IMG]Give it a Try!



    A. Lie on your back on your mat, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor and your arms at your sides. Lift your feet toward the ceiling as you extend your legs, forming a 90-degree angle between your legs and torso, as shown. Press your inner thighs and heels together as your rotate out your toes.

    B. With flat, tight abs, exhale and curl your hips toward your ribs, curling up slowly just one vertebra at a time. Once you cannot curl your lower body any farther, inhale and slowly uncurl your torso, lowering just one vertebra at a time. Once you finish uncurling, repeat 10 times.

    Benefits: Flattens your abs below the navel. Tip: As you roll over, concentrate on lifting from your hips. Try not to let the weight of your legs pull you into the rollover. You want to work those lower abs, not let gravity do the work for you!
     
  16. mircuser

    mircuser Member

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    IM sorry to say but none of these have an effect......the true way to tune ur abs....is hang upside down from a bar and bring ur upper torso up to ur thighs untill u fall off...
     
  17. cutelildeadbear

    cutelildeadbear Hip Forums Gym Rat

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    LOL ok, I think you hung upside down so much your brain fell out. :p
    I'm just teasin' ya, but you are mistaken. While I do know which exercise you are referring to, there are many many exercises that work different muslce groups quite effectively. The one you are talking about is indeed an exercise that will strengthen the abdominals, no doubt, however, not everyone is at a level where they can start out doing that. All of those listed here are good for strengthening abdominal muscle, inner and outter obliques. There is no specific exercise that is perfect for anything otherwise someone would be quite wealthy for finding it.

    Working until you fall off is probably not the best advice either, unless you want to hit your head some more.

    And for the record abs aren't guitars so tuning them is really not what we are after here. Maybe that is why you aren't seeing any progress, you are tuning your abs. I see.

    The truth of the matter is, as I have stated time and again, you cannot spot reduce the only way to lose fat in the abdominal area is to do cardiovascular exercise for 45 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week and strength train your entire body including your mid section. You can either take my free advice and see what happens, or you can believe what you want and keep falling off of bars. That is entirely up to you my friend. ;)


    Take care,
    Jen
     
  18. hippypaul

    hippypaul Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    I have lost 50 lbs in the last 9 months using a treadmill and watching what I eat. I still have a 39-inch waist and 39.5 hips. Other than the basic crunch what can you recommend to reduce abdominal girth that does not involve props (balls, wheels, etc.)?
    Thank you for providing this thread.
     
  19. mircuser

    mircuser Member

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    SHould of thought of that, you are right. But as a human, you need to know urself...know what foods do what to u, try eating greens for a week and red meat once a week, Plenty of greentea and white bread once or twice a month. if it doesnt work try somthing else...adapt to urself, is the way i look at it.
     
  20. mircuser

    mircuser Member

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    constintly use ur abs... make ur body think it is like the heart...it is essential to use, after all the heart is a muscle that is constintly in use yet the strongest muslce in the human body. There is a reason for that...Because it is in constant use. Where in the heart do u find fatty tissue... U will only find Tissue that supports the heart.
     

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