abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

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MarkVW2000
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abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by MarkVW2000 »

theres hundreds of abdominal excercises out there.. which ones are the best of the best for developing a stronger and bigger core?
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Boss Man
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by Boss Man »

Try things like Planks, Roman chairs, Leg Raises. All good ones.

Bearing in mind things like Cleans, Deadlifts, Squats etc, can have an effect too.
BillyG
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by BillyG »

abs are muscle just like biceps triceps, hammies and glutes

want bigger ones.. train them to get bigger,

instead of doing 10 sets of 40 rep sit ups

do 3-4 sets 10-14 reps with loaded weight,

decline weighted sit ups
heavy heavy weighted oblique pulls (weight in one hand and you bend crunch your oblique and touch your knee with you other hand) (never actually learned the name of this)


(when i say heavy.. no 45lbs weights for the obliques, dip into the 100s..)
Packard
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by Packard »

Also keep in mind that some abdominal exercises can cause back pain. Add only one abdominal exercise at a time so you can identify the culprit if you do get pain.

I always do ab work between sets of other exercises when I would be resting anyway. It is a time-saving tactic.
Sammel85
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by Sammel85 »

Ones that I love are V-Sits on a bench so that I can lay out flat without 'resting'
Also (what I call) leg and hip raises. Lying flat on your back, slowly lift up your straight legs to vertical, then continue on and lift up your hips off the floor and pushing them towards the ceiling while making sure you focus on primarily using your abs, very slowly lower and repeat. Kind of like a reverse curl - I anchor myself on an slightly inclined bench by hanging on just above head but avoid doing this if I don't have an anchor point (back pain for me).

Make ab exercises harder by increasing weight, gravity (e.g. hanging leg raise) or balance focus (e.g. plank with one leg off the floor)

Always suck in your button when doing the exercises, it will help to prevent lower back pain if you're a chronic sufferer like me (genetic structure problem, not muscle imbalance).
Last edited by Sammel85 on Mon Dec 20, 2010 5:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
qingfeng456
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by qingfeng456 »

Try things like Planks, Roman chairs, Leg Raises. All good ones.
jacal1
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by jacal1 »

Don't forget that building a stronger core involves the back as well. If you focus too hard on your abs - seems to be the trend right now - and ignore your lower back, you're not really building your core as best you can. The advice you've recieved in this thread is very good, particularly the one about picking something and staying with it so you can figure out what really works for you. Sammel's suggestions will give you a nice burn.

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david4pointpt
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by david4pointpt »

If you want a stronger core you need to train in all 3 planes of motion. Also for every number of spine flexion exercises you do you need to counter them with spine extension aka dead lifts. If you have access to a cable system that you can lower and raise the handle to different heights you are in luck. Train lower abs (anterior fibers of your obliques) with reverse crunches on a flat bench first. Next, adjust the cable system so the handle is higher than your head. I prefer to use the rope for this exercise. Stand with your feet parallel to the cable and shoulder width apart. Turn your torso to face the cable while your feet are still parallel. Now twist away from the cable system, flex your spine and take the elbow that was closest to the cable to the opposite knee while pulling your self into a squat position. Make sure you crunch and not just hip flex. So many people confuse hip flexing with crunching due to all the sit ups and leg raises. If you want hypertrophy in the abs then every set should take at least 30 seconds to perform. Ex... 1 second contract, 1 second hold, and 3 seconds on the negative. Time under tension and controlling the negative breaks muscle down the best and you don't have to use a lot of resistance. http://gymsinsanantonio.com
UbercoolFitness
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by UbercoolFitness »

I must say this before i talk about abs . First thing is that you must correct your nutrition . You will get ripped abs faster with correct nutrions , you can do excercises for abs and if you eat "jung food" and food with extra fat you wont see them . Now about abs , for me the best excercises are crunches , bicycles and leg raises . Do these 3 without rest about 30 repetition and then rest 1m30secs , do 5 sets and you will see the results . Regards

If you are interested check new channel for bodyexcersis UberCoolFitness , soon we will post new videos .
Link - http://www.youtube.com/user/UbercoolFit ... ature=mhee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .
Cheers
chunkfit
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Re: abdominal excercises! need some good ones!

Post by chunkfit »

I'm a really big fan of doing leg raises and crunches on an exercise ball. If you have a pull-up bar, you can do hanging leg raises or personal favorite, the "L" (which can be done while doing pull-ups or just by hanging there. If you can, try holding the "L" position for 30-60 seconds before releasing. Do this a couple times during your workout sessions and you'll be feeling it the next day.

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Mixing up a workout with a variety of lower abdominal exercises is one the best ways to get a nice and define 6-pack. Be sure to use a multitude of exercises and don't get too caught up in a single, miracle exercise.
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