AussieMarc

Just curious what everyone does for ab workouts. I find its difficult to know what ab workout is the best because that area is left in the dark by a lot of body builders. I was presuming the usual situps.. but what happends when you can lift your body weight far too easy? Strap a 20kg plate onto your chest? :confused: anyway, I think help on this area would advantage a lot of others.

crazycacti

Cable Crunches are good - get a rope attachment and put it on the top pully - hold the rope behind ur neck and kneel on the floor - using only ur abs try to get ur forehead to touch the floor - keep those abs tight and working though - don't let the work go anywhere else

powerU

I find any sort of standing shoulder/arm exercise works my abs enough, I don't bother isolating them.

Killerkeane

crunches+ sit ups are most common and effective i think, but like poweru i dont rain them as they get marginally hit by other exercises.

demon

If you use something like a Thera-crunch machine, you can add weights if it gets too easy.

Killerkeane

yeah, that is a killer that is. I almost feel winded when i get off the crunches machines

hackskii

If you are going to do abs then do reps. Abs can be done every day and boxers and fighters do these often.
Dont use heavy weight on the abs because you dont want a blocky muscle for abs but a more leaner muscle.
I do know body builders that dont do alot of ab work unless they are cutting. The last thing you need is a thick mid section.
Usually you can do leg lifts to hit the lower abs and crunches to hit the higher abs twards the diaphram.
Abs are kindof a big muscle group and beings as the diaphram gets used all day and night long then I would not worry about overworking them.

AussieMarc

Ah excelent.. So basically work your abs whenever you feel like it as long as you don't put weight on them? Your definatly right about what I want though, more lean than mass with abs but than as it gets to my chest I want really defined and lean pecks. That is my overall goal with training.

Killerkeane

i would say arms and chest is number one priority for all blokes in general. Thing is a defined and toned abs lead up into the chest, that compliments eachother, but like hackskii said you dont want muscle blocks.
If you do want good abs, just do some sit ups at home on off-days. I normally do something like 10x10 of sit ups and crunches.

Brad Pitt in fight club did 500 reps every day without fail, to get the abs he got. Thats worse than Arnie isnt it?

powerU

I disagree there - but then I have far better back and legs than arms and chest, but i think that makes for a more powerful overall build - our lass likes it anyway!

AussieMarc

they all compensate for each other. there is this bloke in the gym, probably in his late 30's that has a killer upper body but his legs are like mine. for that matter, you can't have huge arms without shoulders and chest.. it looks out of place.. as does huge shoulders etc.

Killerkeane

well what i said wasnt actually true i know, cas people train for all sorts of reasons, but i would say for the typical bodybuilder, they always want good arms and chest. Starters dont usually understand principles of bodybuilding which is why they do 20 sets of bicep curls.

Greyphantom

Cant remember where I found this but its one of many I have on abs...

Abs workout.

here is a great article on working out to get those chizzled abs..

Key # 1- Proper cardiovascular work

You can have the greatest, most muscular set of abs in the world, but if they are blanketed by a layer of body fat, who cares. In order to rid yourself of the extra body fat around your midsection, you need to incorporate effective cardio sessions into your fitness plan. You cannot spot-reduce the midsection by doing extra ab exercises like crunches or sit-ups. You first must burn off the body fat through proper cardio to properly define the area.

Abdominal training by itself will not do much. Cardio needs to be intense enough to do the trick. Three to four sessions a week of intense jogging, running, the Stairmaster, the elliptical, jumping rope, or biking should be enough to get the process in gear. Swimming, hiking, and taking aerobics classes are beneficial as well. Nothing beats jogging or running. It is the most intense, efficient, and effective method of burning calories. If running outside hurts your joints, try running inside on a treadmill or outside on a dirt path. It definitely is easier on the body.

Again, you NEED three to four intense cardio sessions a week to help create a calorie deficit and help rid the body of the fat that covers your abs.

Key # 2- Proper Nutrition

Do not sabotage your results in the gym by giving yourself a passport to pig out. Ridding the body of fat once and for all is accomplished by proper nutrition more so than incorporating cardio. At the end of the day, if you have consumed more calories than you have expended, you add body fat. So you need to burn more calories than you consume.

Nutrition is important because you can reduce the amount of calories you take in, therefore greatly having an effect on the amount which you have to expend through cardio. Eat five to six small, well-balanced meals spaced apart about every three to four hours. Try to keep something healthy on hand. If not, when you become real hungry, you will opt for something that isn't as good for you. When you become overly hungry, all rational thinking goes out the window. But it is important to get something in you. Not eating on time or at all is almost as bad as eating too much. Keep protein intake high (approximately 50% of daily calories), carbs moderate (40%), and fats minimal (10%).

Muscle fiber is made of tightly-wound protein molecules that is damaged during a workout, so you need more protein than the sedentary person to help that muscle tissue repair. Carbohydrates have an important role in the body, but do not base your meals on them. Try to avoid simple sugars like cane sugar, honey, fruit juices, syrups, and even a lot of fruit.

Drink at least a gallon of clean water each day as well. It will help in nutrient absorption and digestion and will help flush toxins from the body.

Bottom line, make sure you are supplying your body with well-balanced, healthy food every three to four hours.

Key # 3- Weight training the abdominals

Here is where most people go wrong in their attempt to develop their abs. I often ask those I train, "Would you train your biceps with sets of 50 reps with no weight?" Of course, they say "no."

How about your chest, 50 reps with no weight? Another no. I then ask, "Then why would you do that with your abs?"

Here's an important key. If you want proper ab development, you need to add resistance (weight) to your ab exercises. Abs are muscles just like biceps, triceps, pecs, glutes, whatever. You need resistance to properly strengthen and build them. The same goes for abdominals.

Here are some effective ab exercises to incorporate for proper ab stimulation.

Weighted crunches. Grab a dumbbell, either hold it in front of your face, or let it lie on your upper chest, under your chin, and perform regular crunches. You are now using your abs more to work against the leverage the dumbbell has created. Stick with a heavy enough weight where you can handle 10-15 reps, but no more. Remember, you need to create enough resistance where your abs are forced to work.

Cable Rope crunches-grab the tricep rope, kneel on your knees, and bend downwards, forcefully contracting your abs on the way down. It's basically a crunch, only, you are on your knees. But the contraction is the same. Don't swing with the hips, you are not using the abs very much if you do. Just a slight, 30 degree contraction until you feel the abs contract, hold for a couple seconds, then back up.

Weighted leg raises- Lie flat on your back, with your hands tucked under your butt. Wrap your feet around a small dumbbell, and perform leg raises. Start with your feet about 6 inches from the ground, then raise them about 12-16 inches from the ground and then back down slowly. These can be done on the end of a bench as well.

Seated ab machine- once again, do not swing all the way down, just far enough (30 degrees) to fully contract the abs, hold for a couple seconds, then back up. This is very similar to Cable rope crunches.

Stability Ball Crunches- working on the stability ball will incorporate balance into your abdominal work. They are effective at strengthening your core region, which is your abs and lower back.

You lie down on a stability ball like you are going to perform a crunch. Position yourself on the ball so your lower back is resting on it. Keep your feet close together on the floor making your body less stable (helps incorporate more balance on your part) and place your hands behind your head or folded on your chest. Crunch your upper body towards your knees, exhaling as you contract your abs. Under muscular control, lower yourself back to the original position keeping full tension on the abs.

Greyphantom

and another...

Abs: the truth…


The body part of the millennium, that sexy landscape of bumps and grooves which is a key factor to many folks being in the gym. The six pack, the flat stomach, the tight belly, those chiseled abs.

Give me a break, people. Remember when working out was about your health? Remember that? Huh? No? Oh...

This is it. This is the information no one wants to hear or read because it means responsibility and dedication, not magic potions or god-sent gizmos. There is some good news though, which I'll start with.

Truth #1: Abs do not need to be “worked” everyday, or even every other day.

That's the good news. You're wasting precious time doing those various crunchy twisty thingies every single day. Guess what? If you hold that spine the way it should be held, proud and stable, for every exercise you do and learn what your mama told you about sitting up straight, you're gaining a considerable amount of “core strength.” But who the heck wants "core strength," whatever that is? We want ABSSS! Poppin' out everywhere like speed bumps to heaven. Then work your abs like you would any other muscle group, very hard and very proper but occasionally, with good recuperation, not that sloppy, formless mess that I see writhing on the floors or twitching in some ab gizmo all the time.

You’ve got abs. In fact, if you workout well and consistently, you probably have considerable ab strength. You don't see them because they're hiding. They're ducking behind your fat layer and can't be coerced out until the fat goes away. NO AMOUNT OF AB WORK MAKES THAT FAT GO AWAY !!(1,2)

So doing them every day is just silly and potentially dangerous in the long run. No muscle needs to be beaten up on like that. (3)

Truth #2 If you are doing hundreds of repetitions, you're doin' somethun' wrong.

Back to that formless mess. Aw, just see Truth #8

Truth #3 There is absolutely no need for a machine or device, especially the junk sold through infomercials (4).

A small group of people are making truckloads of money off the uneducated masses needing a quick fix. Their product will not do any of the wonderful things they say. They are lying, absolutely lying. Don't pay them to lie further. Imagine if you bought some magical machine for every body part. You'd have a big room of junk. A mini gym of dumbness.

Truth #4 Abs are part of a greater core and should be trained within an entire trunk training program.


The only piece of equipment I'd recommend, outside of traditional freeweight equipment, would be a Resist-a-Ball (or Fitball, or gymball or physioball, whatever brand you or your gym owns). Not any special piece of Ab Machinery. In addition to simple, equipment-free exercises, a ball is one way to create trunk strength and stabilization skills, which involves all the muscles that support the trunk and lower spine, including the abs, and which work synergistically with hip, leg and back muscles. With a ball, or with standing cable or dumbbell exercises that require strong abdominal function as either a mover or a stabilizer, you’ll have much greater and more effective ways of training them then doing a bunch of crunches or investing in an AbTerminator. When was the last time you crunched in day-to-day life? It's not a motion we utilize daily (if it is, you have a unique occupation), so why train our abs that way when their #1 job is stabilization and balance, often during dynamic situations. Yoga or Tai Chi are other great trunk strengtheners. Yeah, I know these don’t burn like several thousand crunches do (which could be how your chiropractor or doctor might put their kids through school, thanks to you) but just because you wanna be ripped doesn't mean you have to be stoopid.

Truth #5 (this is a biggie) There isn't a single ab exercise, device or routine in the world that will reduce the fat directly from the waist line.

In other words, ab exercises won't make your waist smaller (1,2)! Remember, they might be hiding, but torturing them through some monster ab routine or on an infomercial gizmo does not affect the fat around them at all. Hence such motivation will not reduce the waistline.

Truth #6 Eating better is the number one way to reduce the stubborn fat around the midsection, not cardiovascular exercise, and definitely not abdominal exercise.

Who wants to hear this garbage, just give me a Torso Obliterator, a handful of pills and be done with it. This is the bad news no one wants to hear. That's right, the absolute best way to affect the fat around the midsection is changing your eating habits. Yes, that takes real work, not just the toil and sweat of a workout. Now don't get me wrong, cardiovascular exercise will help put the body in a calorie deficit and therefore promote fat loss from all over the body, but studies have shown that the stubborn belly jiggle responds best to diet changes (5,6,7,8). Sorry, but I did say this takes responsibility and dedication.

Truth #7 The ab work generally done towards the end of aerobics classes can be dangerous, if not just a waste of time. Way too much for too long. I counted over 600 reps during the ab portion of a certain aerobics class. How on earth can you maintain proper form and focus doing a giant slew of twists and reaches and leg raises, all the to the beat of a tape (11)?

Truth #8 Most people perform ab exercises ineffectively, if not dangerously.

Hey, how cool am I? I just did three hundred crunches! Then you, my friend, are doing something wrong. If the rest of your weight workout rep range is about 8 - 15 reps, why should your ab muscles follow different laws? Would you do 300 leg presses or 300 bicep curls? Somewhere, maybe around rep 250, why didn't you think "what the heck kinda waste of time is this?"

Truth #9 You cannot target the "lower abs." Lower abs is a geographic location, not an anatomical description.

Ain't no special muscles down there that are separated from the rest. You may have acquired an unwanted attachment that has become determined to set up camp on you lower midsection, but since we've discussed in great length earlier how you can't choose where that goo should melt from, "targeting" this area won't do a lick of good (12). If you're working the "upper abs," you're working the "lower abs." You might not feel it as much but it's not a separate muscle group, so it has to work whenever you do any ab exercise. Let's say this again: there is no exercise that specifically isolates the "lower abs," since there is no such thing! That would be like saying you can target your lower biceps. Sorry, can't be done.

Now EMS readings have shown that the inferior attachment (often called the "insertion") of the rectus abdominus, where the lower fibers attach to the pelvis, might kick in a little more during certain portions of certain exercises, but this cannot be consciously controlled (though some belly dancers might want to argue this) nor is it a direct indication that the lower fibers are going to do anything magical in terms of hypertrophy or especially fat loss.

Truth #10 Beware of High Repetition, Unloaded Trunk Twists.

Again, usually performed under the mistaken belief that this “exercise” will somehow reduce those poetically named "love handles." The good ol’ broom twists are not very effective, in fact they could do a good degree of damage to the spine (9). I don't want to get into depth about them, let's just say that this “exercise” doesn’t really work the muscles you want to work anyway (at least not in the fast, uncontrolled and unloaded fashion most folks perform it in, [10]) and even if they did, they still wouldn't burn the extra pudding around the sides. Plus, bad forces against spine. Spine no like. So stop it!

TRUTH #11 Learn Technique Before Adding Weight..

If you feel the need to increase the intensity of your ab workouts, learn to do the exercises properly, which is an easily skipped step. Your body weight will usually be sufficient for many floor-based exercises, but if it’s time to get up off the floor, then start light and master form. Great, so you can bend your spine with added resistance. Can you balance? Are you in control of the movement? This is an area that trainers need to greatly increase their knowledge in, because many gyms across the world have trainers torturing people's abs in silly and dangerous ways.

Written by Chip Conrad of Bodytribe Fitness

References

1. Ross R, Janssen I. Physical activity, total and regional obesity: dose-response considerations. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001 Jun;339,

2. Ross R, Janssen I. Is abdominal fat preferentially reduced in response to exercise-induced weight loss? Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999 Nov;31

3. DeMichele PL, Pollock ML, Graves JE, Foster DN, et al. Isometric torso rotation strength: effect of training frequency on its development. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1997 Jan.

4. Demont RG, Lephart SM, Giraldo JL, Giannantonio FP, et al. Comparison of two abdominal training devices with an abdominal crunch using strength and EMG measurements. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 1999 Sep

5. Sweeney ME, Hill JO, Heller PA, Baney R, et al. Severe vs moderate energy restriction with and without exercise in the treatment of obesity: efficiency of weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr 1993 Feb

6. Ross R, Rissanen J, Pedwell H, Clifford J, et al. Influence of diet and exercise on skeletal muscle and visceral adipose tissue in men. J Appl Physiol 1996 Dec;81(6):2445-55.J Appl Physiol 1996 Dec

7. Saris WH. Exercise with or without dietary restriction and obesity treatment. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995 Oct;19 Suppl 4:S113-6.Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995 Oct

8. Gleim GW. Exercise is not an effective weight loss modality in women. J Am Coll Nutr 1993 Aug;12(4):363-7.J Am Coll Nutr 1993 Aug

9. Au G, Cook J, McGill SM. Spinal shrinkage during repetitive controlled torsional, flexion and lateral bend motion exertions. Ergonomics 2001 Mar

10. Ng JK, Parnianpour M, Richardson CA, Kippers V. Functional roles of abdominal and back muscles during isometric axial rotation of the trunk. J Orthop Res 2001 May

11. Rao S, Bellare B. Cardiovascular responses to abdominal exercises in females between 35 and 45 years of age. J Postgrad Med 1993 Apr-Jun;39(2):79-81.J Postgrad Med 1993 Apr-Jun;39(2):79-81.

12. Stokes IA, Moffroid M, Rush S, Haugh LD. EMG to torque relationship in rectus abdominis muscle. Results with repeated testing. Spine 1989 Aug;14(8):857-61.Spine 1989 Aug;14(8):857-61.

Greyphantom

one more for the road...

Abdominal Training 101
By J. Clayton Hyght, DC, B.Sc., CSCS, CPT

It is common knowledge that the ‘abs’ are the visual centerpiece of any muscular physique. In bodybuilding, modeling, or simply looking great, a chiseled six-pack is an absolute must. Without a ripped midsection, you won’t go far. Arguably however, the most important function of the abdominal region is to provide a strong and functional core on which both the upper and lower body move. Weak core muscles can lead to decreased sport performance, poor posture, and low back pain. Now that we’ve established how important a well-developed set of abs is, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of abdominal training.
When someone mentions abs, most people immediately think of the rectus abdominus muscle. This is the muscle that is responsible for the six-pack appearance. The rectus abdominus muscle runs from the bottom of the rib cage and the xiphoid process to the pelvic brim and the pubic symphysis. When this muscle contracts (shortens) it brings the lower front part of the rib cage closer to the front part of the pelvis. This is also called spinal flexion due to the fact that when this motion occurs, the lumbar and thoracic (lower and middle back) regions of the spine are flexed forward. This muscle can be trained by doing crunches, Swiss ball crunches, rope crunches, or reverse crunches.
Another muscle of the midsection is the oblique muscles. These muscles lie to the side of the rectus abdominus muscle and wrap around the sides of the waist. There are two sets of oblique muscles: the external obliques (which are visible on someone who is very lean) and the internal obliques (which are not visible). The function of these muscles is to aid the rectus abdominus in spinal flexion and to rotate the trunk and spine. The obliques can be trained by performing any of the above crunches with a twist, trunk rotation, or side bend.
Last, but definitely not least, and located in the midsection musculature, is the transverse abdominus (TVA) muscle. The TVA runs sideways across the body under both the rectus abdominus and both of the oblique muscles. It is the only one of the abdominal muscles that does not cause movement of the spine. The function of the TVA is to pull the abdomen in and compress the internal viscera. In other words when the TVA contracts, the circumference of the midsection decreases and the navel gets closer to the spine.
A perfect example of this is the vacuum pose that was made famous by Frank Zane. As you can probably imagine, bodybuilders who have a shredded but distended midsection suffer from a weak transverse abdominus muscle. To train the TVA, begin by exhaling completely, then pull your navel as close to your spine as possible. Hold for 10 - 20 seconds (don’t pass out!) In addition to this exercise, keep your abs tight and slightly pulled in all day long. You thought sucking your gut in was cheating! It’s not. It’s a valid exercise.
Some people believe that the abs should be trained every day. Others say they should be trained only as often as the other muscle groups (one to two times per week). My recommendation is somewhere in between what I consider to be two extremes. Training them everyday would likely lead to over training. However, I do believe the abs can recover faster than other muscles like chest, back, and legs. Therefore they should be trained more often than these muscles. As a general rule, wait about 48 hours between abdominal workouts.
An exception to this is the transverse abdominus. The goal of training the TVA is not to cause it to hypertrophy (growth), but rather, to improve the neuromuscular efficiency of the muscle. In English, that means to “tone” the muscle. To achieve this, the muscle should be trained multiple times per day, every day. Try training the TVA with the vacuum exercise three times per day: upon wakening, midday, and before bed.
When planning your ab workout you should select one or two exercises for each muscle group. Generally, I would probably recommend two exercises for the rectus abdominus and one for the obliques. Each exercise should consist of about three sets each.
But before you head to the gym to put this stuff to work, let’s dispel some myths about abdominal training. First of all, there is no such thing as spot reduction. Doing side bends and twists will NOT get rid of you love handles. Dieting and doing cardio will. Think of it this way, when you put on fat you do not get to select where on the body it will ultimately reside (unfortunately). Likewise, you can’t select from where it will come off. Fat will be lost in the reverse order that it was put on. You’ve seen people in the gym that train abs like there’s no tomorrow, eat whatever they want, and do no cardio. Yet, somehow, they expect their efforts to yield the much wanted “six-pack” look. It’s quite possible the underlying musculature is well enough defined; but it’s not visual because it’s covered up with fat. So keep in mind that developing the midsection you want is a two-step process, developing the muscles and losing the fat on top of them.
Secondly, hanging leg raises and leg lifts are excellent exercises for the hip flexor muscles, not the abdominals. Training the hip flexors too much, especially without adequate stretching, can lead to a shortening of the iliopsoas (hip flexor) which can cause an increased curve in the lumbar spine (hyperlordosis) and lead to low back pain.
When you begin with your legs straight down and pull them up to 90 degrees, that movement is called hip flexion. Makes sense that the hip flexors would do that movement, huh? Your abdominal muscles only contract isometrically when you do these movements. Your abs also contract isometrically when you have a bowel movement, but this is obviously not the best way to train them. An isometric contraction means there is no lengthening and shortening of the muscle.
A muscle must be trained through its full range of motion for maximum benefit. However, if you started with your legs at 90 degrees of hip flexion and pulled your pelvis toward your sternum, the rectus abdominus would contract. This movement performed on the ground is called a reverse crunch. The same movement performed while hanging is called very difficult. Not too many people can do it from a hanging position. Give it a try!
Now that you have a basic understanding of the anatomy, biomechanics, and recuperative ability of the abdominal musculature, go make it happen!