Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Ab exercises

Rate this topic


Mammon

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know of any good videos of things I can to do get the ZOMG SIX PACK ABs? I used to have a four pack because I did about 200 sit ups a week when I went to the gym. But ever since coming to college I haven't really been going to the gym, and after 3 years my four pack is quickly becoming a gut. It's not quite there yet, but I realized I need to do something about it after I couldn't fit into my pants the other day. :D So I went to the gym in the first time in over a year yesterday.

The reason I haven't been doing sit ups in my own time is because I'm one of those weird people that can't do a situp unless I have something holding my feet down, and I really haven't found a good place for that. That's why I'm asking for videos of ab exercises that don't involve sit ups.

Thanks.

Edit: I was thinking about starting

I'm not for sure if it's good or not, but I do have a couch in the lobby. Edited by Mammon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have a bed in your room? Whenever I do crunches (or used to...) I wedged my feet under the bed. You just gotta be careful that you actually do situps instead of just pullin' yourself up using your feet and the bed. Haha. Or you could have your roomie hold yer feetsies down.

Also, you could get an ab roller: http://www.abroller.com/

At my house, we have this other thing that helps with abs and you're in kind of a push up position and you roll it outward. It hurts like hell. I will try to find what it's called and send to you later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I've done is doing reversed situps, so instead of lifting up your torso you lie flat on your back and lift your legs off the ground. You can just keep them off the ground at all times, and then lift them up so they're almost perpendicular to the ground. It works quite well for your abs, and if you normally get back/neck problems you won't get that with this variant, because your torso is always flat on the ground.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know of any good videos of things I can to do get the ZOMG SIX PACK ABs?

I'm not sure about videos, but if you've had a four pack before, then that may be all you can get. Despite what popular myths say, not everyone can exercise and end up like the people on work-out magazines. How your body responds to exercise depends on your genes.

The reason I haven't been doing sit ups in my own time is because I'm one of those weird people that can't do a situp unless I have something holding my feet down, and I really haven't found a good place for that.

I'm the same way, and it used to frustrate me that my gym doesn't have any place to wedge your feet under. Sure, you can put them under the heat register in the cardio room but they'll charge ya if you uproot it. My solution is to take two thirty five or forty pound weights and set them on my feet. Works perfectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do leg lifts. Lay on your back, keep your legs straight, and lift them up to a 90 degree angle. It's a simple routine and it's given me a nice 6 pack. <_< I do 180 leg lifts every other day.

There is another *excellent* exercise you can do, that gave me an 8 pack back in the day. Unfortunately they don't have the machine at my current gym, so I've been restricted to just leg lifts...Basically if you've ever seen those machines at the gym that are like two towers, with weights on both ends. People mainly use them to do chest exersises. For the ab routine, sit on your knees, grab the rope behind your head and pull your torso toward the floor. One problem with this exercise is that it pretty much has to be a two man operation. You really need someone to stand on your feet, otherwise it is really hard to keep yourself on the ground.

I used to be really hardcore about working out (abs in particular). That's how I discovered that technique. I just experimented with every ab excercise I read about and that one had by far the best results. The only problem is that you have to find yourself a good gym because it's a pretty expensive machine...

Edited by skap35
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do leg lifts. Lay on your back, keep your legs straight, and lift them up to a 90 degree angle. It's a simple routine and it's given me a nice 6 pack. :thumbsup: I do 180 leg lifts every other day.

I heard that leg raises are actually bad for the lower back because they put too much stress on the region. I used to see people doing it all the time at the gym, then when some study came out everyone stopped doing it. I tried to look online for the details, but while I find that there is indeed danger in it (ie, do NOT arch your back and do NOT do them if you are overweight or presently have a weak back) I could not find the article in question (it was published last year - probably in print rather than online).

At any rate, an alternative to the 90-degree angle is pulling them into a crunch, though not so tight that you're lifting your butt off the bench or ground. Another alternative is to keep them 90 degrees up in the air and then do pretend bicycle-riding motions for a bit while keeping your abs tensed. That one you can also do by propping your butt up half a foot in the air with elbows to the ground and your hands holding you up.

Basically if you've ever seen those machines at the gym that are like two towers, with weights on both ends. People mainly use them to do chest exersises.

Yup, the cable-crossover machine. Lots of people do that one all the time at my gym. An additional tip is to borrow one of those step benches, put a mat on it, and kneel on that to allow for extra crunching depth. One thing to watch out for when doing these is not to pull backwards. You should keep the angle between calves and thighs constant, not succumbing to temptation to pull them together.

Also, don't forget that as well as the in-line straight up and down it is also worth while to bend down alternately to either side.

Another abs exercise with that machine is side-ways tilts - the "I'm a little tea-pot" nursery rhyme without the words.

The only problem is that you have to find yourself a good gym because it's a pretty expensive machine...

Expensive I don't know about, but it does take up a lot of space. Ours is about 12 feet across, 7 high, and 2 deep. My local has one, as does another gym across town, but a big expensive gym I went to for a few days in my state capital did not, and I suspect it was the space rather than the cost that was the issue. On the plus side there's lots you can do with it if you're imaginative.

Another exercise is using the the lat pull down. Instead of facing inwards as normal, sit facing outwards. Good gyms will have a proper strap with handles and a connector fitting for this purpose, but if not then you can make your own with a short piece of rope with big knots at either end. If you have a proper handled strap then you should have your wrists through the handles and you should be holding on to the main length itself above those handles. Anyway, the strap or rope should be just long enough so that your fists are between your neck and pecs. Sit legs apart, say at about 60 degrees. Bend straight forward to put head between the knees for normal, or bend to get nose to each knee alternately to focus on each side. Then you can sit side-ways and do side-bends, too.

An additional (but hairy) abs exercise is sit-ups on a back-lift bench. Ordinarily as a back exercise you hang off it 90 degrees face down with the back of your ankles held in place by roller pads, and you then lift your self up to horizontal. The abs exercise with it is to lie on it face up with the front of your ankles under the roller pads, and then sit upright as in a normal sit-up. You can even be free to clasp plates to your chest with your arms. And, again, you can do side bends in a similar fashion. It can be dangerous (particularly if you're tired), though, as you don't want to bend over backwards past horizontal. Don't do this one without a partner.

JJM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our gym (Planet Fitness) has several good Ab machines. I started using a new one lately, and for the first time in a long time my abs got sore from working out! Here is a picture of this very simple machine. You hold yourself up with your arms and let your legs hang, then lift your legs to 90 degrees. Alternately, you can pull your knees to your chest (that's what I do). Pulling your knees to the left or right works on the love handles. I did 30 of these on Thursday and I was still feeling it Saturday!

Regarding getting the 6-pack back, it may be much more difficult to do when you get older. Diet plays a greater role than I thought when I was younger. When I was 17, I wrestled in the 145 lb weight class (at 6' tall). I never worked out during the off-season and all I ate was garbage, but I always had a six-pack. These days, I do cardio and weights three times a week, and I have a moderately healthy diet. But the six-pack is long gone. I was doing 100 sit-ups a day at one point, but it just makes my stomach muscles bigger and stronger while the belly remains. The difference is, I turn 30 this year. I'm now 185 lbs, strong, and possibly in the best shape of my life, but the six-pack may be gone forever.

I could probably get ripped again, but it may take a dedication to fitness that I'm not willing to make. Two hours of my time (including travel time) three times a week is a big chunk of my schedule.

--Dan Edge

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could probably get ripped again, but it may take a dedication to fitness that I'm not willing to make. Two hours of my time (including travel time) three times a week is a big chunk of my schedule.

I'm sure you could. Six packs require two things: a muscular abdomen and low body fat. If you have too much body fat, you won't see the muscle.

My recommendation, anabolic steroids.

:P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dan: funny, I was thinking before I came here that I had forgotten about that one and was going to post about it, then you posted a pic!

Mammon: The machine Dan refers to is called the Roman Chair (at least around these here parts), and again you can get all twisty-like on it too. I agree with Dan and think crunches are better than the leg raises, as you also have the option of chaining a plate to your ankles for extra resistance and can increase its weight as you grow stronger abs. Technically you could do the same for leg raises, but leverage makes for poor control of weight progress and you're also creating a swinging wrecking ball which might mess up other people's day.

(Incidentally, you can also do dips on it for a tricep workout if it also has grips sticking out forwards for that purpose, and again chain some weights about your ankles or waist.)

Thales: Better Living Through Chemistry, huh?

JJM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As George Ellison and Thales pointed out, low body fat is the essential element for a regular person to maintain six-pack abs (or four- or eight-, depending on your own genetics). It would take the dedicated, focused exercise of a real bodybuilder (who, to note, has his own health risks inherent in his activities), not just a muscle-builder, to build up enough stomach muscle to see through a thicker layer of fat. Also, I will reiterate that although everyone gains fat a little differently, spot-reduction is not possible when losing it. It goes as it goes.

As for exercises for an in-shape stomach, the only one you need to remember is the "crunch," and you can look up good technique for that online. Other exercises are either just as effective but more risky, just not as effective at all, or actually bad for your body (such as the sit-up, for your back). The stomach moves one way, contracting toward itself, and nothing else, so that is all you need to do to keep it in shape. Down the line, if you want to actually build your stomach muscles up, as opposed to just seeing them in the form of a six-pack and keeping them healthy, you could hold a 25 lb. weight (or so) across your chest on a bench and do crunches at a decline, with your head toward the floor. Besides that, for 97% of healthy people, and for most health goals, there is no big benefit to doing fifteen different wacky abdominal exercises.

Another note, if you do crunches as a part of an otherwise healthy fitness routine, with cardiovascular exercise, a good diet, and all-around muscle exercises, you will begin to look more proportional, agile, and healthy, which will either majorly supplement a six-pack, or make the lack of one barely noticeable. Besides, although looking good is great (and though they usually go hand-in-hand), living longer and feeling physically great all the time is a lot better!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Well I have to agree about the masking effect of even a little too much food obscuring all one's hard work.

I bike regularly, practice aikido, sometimes run & swim, but once I overheard a lady in aikido comment that she noticed a guy's sixpack, I thought, "hey, I need to strengthen my center for aikido anyway, and if it turns her head, so much the better". So I now do a double routine of progressively harder situps/crunchies every day.

Well, although I am not an over eater, I do need to replace what I burn off, but after 2-3 months of consistent effort, I expected some noticeable effect, and while I'm back to my 33/4 waist, the definition just isn't there.

For the past week I've been on a mild cleanse, and today, I had a cereal & espresso, then biked around to garage sales, did shopping, did aikido, then biked home, and before I got in the shower I happened to notice that I could actually see some definition for once. I'd been upping the reps, but simply not having much food in my belly seemed to make all the difference. I guess it's like those actors who purge before an interview.

I guess this tells me a) that my work is not in vain, and :P to keep at it, and c) that if I really need to show off, calory restrict.

Cheers,

aj

Another note, if you do crunches as a part of an otherwise healthy fitness routine, with cardiovascular exercise, a good diet, and all-around muscle exercises, you will begin to look more proportional, agile, and healthy, which will either majorly supplement a six-pack, or make the lack of one barely noticeable. Besides, although looking good is great (and though they usually go hand-in-hand), living longer and feeling physically great all the time is a lot better!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd been upping the reps, but simply not having much food in my belly seemed to make all the difference. I guess it's like those actors who purge before an interview.
I'm not sure if you meant to write "on" (as in fat) instead of "in," but to clarify, the amount of food in your stomach will only make it bulge outward, or not. Your stomach is beneath your abdominal muscle, so if you have a six-pack (almost always because your body fat is low enough), you will still see muscle definition even after you've had a big meal, and your stomach is bulging outward. The bulge itself is very obvious on really skinny guys, like myself, and less obvious on guys that have more fat and muscle on their bodies, because the volume of food is less in ratio to their body's overall mass.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are right in that a meal shouldn't make much of a difference to my definition, but I'm only going on what I observed. And it wasn't much to speak of, basically a "two-pack". But for a 49 year old who makes his living at the computer, I'll take whatever progress I can.

But after considering this discussion, I'm starting to rethink the kind of situps I am doing, now that I have some inkling where I need to focus. I know there is muscle there, as I recently took a solid hit in the gut from a junior student in aikido, and it didn't even phase me. Also, I've always have sub-average body fat. Bottom line, I think it's a saggy epidermous due to accelerated decrepitude. But I'm going to keep fighting entropy with integrity.

It also just dawned on my that my aikido might be interfering with my situps. You can often tell aikidoists or systema people by their puffed out stomachs and lowered center of gravity. This is due to intentionally different breathing patterns that create more power when executing a movement, and allow one to absorb a hit safely. After a while, one doesn't even think about it anymore, it is just part of your way of living.

What doesn't kill you, makes you weirder...

aj

I'm not sure if you meant to write "on" (as in fat) instead of "in," but to clarify, the amount of food in your stomach will only make it bulge outward, or not. Your stomach is beneath your abdominal muscle, so if you have a six-pack (almost always because your body fat is low enough), you will still see muscle definition even after you've had a big meal, and your stomach is bulging outward. The bulge itself is very obvious on really skinny guys, like myself, and less obvious on guys that have more fat and muscle on their bodies, because the volume of food is less in ratio to their body's overall mass.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...