Abs excercises

chilipop

Hiya I am pretty skinny yet wont to tone up my abs,
I have found this excercise which seems to work quiet well and would apreciate any comments on it

I lie on my back, clench stomach bring legs to my chest hold and bring one leg just inches above the floor and hold for ten seconds then repeat with other leg,
To make it harder i do crunches at the same time yet after about 15 the pain is unbearable,

Is this a safe/effective way of bulking up?
I also use a powerbal for the Biceps and that is it really i dont do much excercise and dont have much time either with the Leaving Cert

if u get cramps the next day then u work to hard, also abpout the stomach crunches just try to go one better each time and then just repeat like 2-3 times a day

for biceps i think get how much u can maximum lift like, do one up down with in the same way u do ur excercise,... and then i think 75% of that 12 times, 3 times a day will build up muscles and 55% of that lots of reps tones muscles

Reply 2

OMGWTF

Push ups work well. I have man boobs now, but they're hard ones if you get what I mean. I get told to wear a bra ahaha

Reply 3

Debussy

try holding the plank for 45+ seconds in between your sets of crunches...

its painful... but fantastic for core stability...

Reply 4

chilipop

OP

medic_bex

try holding the plank for 45+ seconds in between your sets of crunches...

its painful... but fantastic for core stability...

Whats plank?

Reply 5

black_mamba

A plank of wood with some fat blokes sat ontop?

Reply 6

bred

chilipop

Hiya I am pretty skinny yet wont to tone up my abs,
I have found this excercise which seems to work quiet well and would apreciate any comments on it

I lie on my back, clench stomach bring legs to my chest hold and bring one leg just inches above the floor and hold for ten seconds then repeat with other leg,
To make it harder i do crunches at the same time yet after about 15 the pain is unbearable,

This is quite a good exercise. Weighted crunches and hanging leg raises are excellent too. You don't want to be doing hundreds of sit ups as the abs are very much like any other muscle group: using a weight that you can do 4-12 reps for 3 sets is best. For abs and calves though you can add a few more reps because those muscles heal a little quicker.

Is this a safe/effective way of bulking up?

Bulking up is all about eating loads of healthy foods that are high in protein in addition to a lifting regime that involves lifting heavy (with excellent form of course to avoid injury) for sets of about 8 reps.

I also use a powerbal for the Biceps and that is it really i dont do much excercise and dont have much time either with the Leaving Cert

They best bicep exercises are standing dumbbell, barbell or cable curls, seated preacher curls, hammer curls, and reverse curls. Unfortunately I'm not sure what a powerball is though.

Reply 7

Debussy

chilipop

Whats plank?

ok... lie on your front so you're leaning on your forearms...

lift your body up, balancing on your toes and forearms... make sure you keep your back and bum straight and in line so that all your weight is on your abs... if you do it properly it hurts like hell and by 45 seconds my muscles are twitching with the pain... but it really is a fantastic exercise to do...

Reply 8

Whoever mentioned 'cramps' the next day and 'bad' in the same sentence is stupid.

It's called DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness. eg. i currently have DOMS in my biceps as i worked biceps/back yday. However, DOMS isn't necessarily an indicator of a good/achieved workout.

Hanging leg raises, monkey pullups and weighted crunches are the only ones needed. Saying all this, you get a six-pack mainly in the kitchen. Remember, abs are exercised indirectly 24/7, and even more so when you perform exercises like deadlifts and squats. :smile:

Reply 9

chilipop

Whats plank?

roll over to push up position, rest on your forearms and your toes, so your entire torso is off the ground, with your back flat.

I am not refering to medic_bex's post, but there is some bad advice in this thread.

Basically bulking is 70% diet... it also involves a rep range where you achieve maximum hypertrophy, 8-10 reps, with a weight where doing an 11th rep would be impossible without cheating.

This is a huge area and to be honest I can't be bothered to go into it.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/ - thats the best health and fitness community on the web... im a member there too. Read the information in the powerlifting forum and the bodybuilding forums, and post if you have a specific question.

Do your own research and ask the right people, that means profesional or people who know what they are talking about, and generally not people on a student forum.

Reply 10

Agree with the above about diet.

But rep/set ranges is all about trial and error. A may build one triples and singles where as B may build on the prescribed 3x8 or 4x6. There's not one answer.

Reply 11

erk

Agree with the above about diet.

But rep/set ranges is all about trial and error. A may build one triples and singles where as B may build on the prescribed 3x8 or 4x6. There's not one answer.

true, do what works :smile:

Reply 12

lessthanthree

I always felt a bit refreshed when I broke the pain barrier, or I had a bit of muscle cramp later on - as far as I was concerned, it meant that whatever I did worked, but it told me I needed to warm down more effectively.

yeah its always nice to feel Doms (nice :rolleyes:

) but unfortunetly Doms and muscle growth aren't linked, just because you are sore, doesn't mean you'll grow.

Reply 13

As you need to fuel your muscles. :smile:

DOMS are nice, i like them in some kind of twisted sadistic way. :frown:

Reply 14

Debussy

erk

As you need to fuel your muscles. :smile:

DOMS are nice, i like them in some kind of twisted sadistic way. :frown:

pain is weakness leaving your body...? :biggrin:

Reply 15

john !!

crunches, hold a plate to your chest as you do it and do it to faliure, chose the weight so that your max possible reps is about 4-7.

reverse crunches is kinda what you described, but the alternate leg thing is different.
also try stomach vacuums, weird exercise but helps keep stuff in place I think:

take a deep breath then exhale completely and suck your stomach in as much as you can, and hold for 20 seconds. repeat 3 times or so with breaks.

Reply 16

mik1w

crunches, hold a plate to your chest as you do it and do it to faliure, chose the weight so that your max possible reps is about 4-7.

reverse crunches is kinda what you described, but the alternate leg thing is different.
also try stomach vacuums, weird exercise but helps keep stuff in place I think:

take a deep breath then exhale completely and suck your stomach in as much as you can, and hold for 20 seconds. repeat 3 times or so with breaks.

keep stuff in place? :smile:

is it not a bodybuilding pose designed to make your stomach look smaller, i didnt know it actually had a use outside of that.

Reply 17

medic_bex

pain is weakness leaving your body...? :biggrin:

Haha. I'd like that quote if it wasn't obsessed about by the yanks. :rolleyes:

T&he problem with weighted work on the abs, is a possible ab-gut, not pleasant. :rolleyes:

Reply 18

Helenia

20

medic_bex

pain is weakness leaving your body...? :biggrin:

Pain is temporary, victory is forever :wink:

Reply 19

black_mamba