Abdominal Workout

cousin_borat

In other gyms I've sometimes seen these straps which you hook onto a pullup frame or some such. You place your elbows and forearms in the straps and perform straight leg raises similar to the roman chair except your back has no support. What are these and are they worth suggesting to the gym to get hold of? They definately look challenging.

justsomebloke

I haven't used them myself and i don't think your gym would probably be that pushed about getting them. If you are looking to try something a bit different with your leg raises your gym probably has a somewhere for pulling pullups so basically hold on to the grips and then do leg raises.

http://www.shapefit.com/abs-exercises-hanging-leg-raises.html or even http://www.shapefit.com/abs-exercises-hanging-pikes.html

cousin_borat

Thanks for that. I'll give them a go

amazingemmet

Just had a look at those exercises it would be better if you keep your legs straight throughout the exercises both of them

LegacyUser

cousin_borat wrote:

In other gyms I've sometimes seen these straps which you hook onto a pullup frame or some such. You place your elbows and forearms in the straps and perform straight leg raises similar to the roman chair except your back has no support. What are these and are they worth suggesting to the gym to get hold of? They definately look challenging.

I know the ones you are talking about. Very tough to do, really get the heart pumpin. Love doing them myself but because it's on one of the most popular machines, it's always busy! Those arm pads are usually on the ground beside the machine and u just hook them on...well they are in Crunch Dun Laoghaire anyway...

http://www.shapeupshop.com/fitness/abs/slings.htm

Although you are anything but smiling when doing them...more like crying.

justsomebloke

also for something else slightly different, if you are using the piece of equipment i think you are using to do your leg rasies (can't remember the name of it at the moment) instead of resting on the pads using your forearms as support keep your arms straight and balance on the palms of your hands and do the leg raises. Also as Emmet pointed out if you can keep your legs straight as it is a better workout but until you may find it easier initially too bend your legs while getting use to hanging from the rafters also you might not have the leg space to keep them straight

BrianD3

Sounds like a hanging leg raise. Good exercise alright. AFAIK it is quite easy to hit the hip flexors rather than the abs in this exercise so pay attention to form. I think you are supposed to concentrate on curling your pelvis/hips upwards, tucking yoiur arse under and rounding your back. As opposed to letting your arse stick out and arching your back.

You can also attach weights to yourself to add more resitance. Weights attached to the top of the legs/hips add some extra resistance but if you put even a few kg around your ankles things become downright impossible!

TBH i think specific abs exercise are pretty unnecessary though as most heavy compound movements hit the abs hard anyway. For instance I have reasonable core strength and a good six pack but haven't done any ab work in over a year. I have recently started experimenting with front levers but gave up doing weighted crunches and the likes a long time ago.

cousin_borat

JSB: That's exactly what I was referring to.

BrianD3, you have a fair point there. My take on it would be that I perform each of the big compounds on a weekly basis. The abdominals recover quicker so can be exercised every day. Therefore I supplement the compounds with a couple of specific abdominal exercises.

Also good point about watching out for Hip Flexors, I'll watch out for that

Emmet: I perform bent knee raises at the end when I can no longer perform straight leg raises. Also do bent knees to left and right side to hit obliques.

amazingemmet

Personally i find isometrics to be the best sort of exercises for your abs as this builds them up to hold static contractions which is what you want your abs to do in most situations.

cousin_borat

I do Stability ball prone Iso's, is this along the lines of what youre talking about?

BrianD3

amazingemmet wrote:

Personally i find isometrics to be the best sort of exercises for your abs as this builds them up to hold static contractions which is what you want your abs to do in most situations.

Can you do a front lever emmet and if so how long can you hold it for.

The front lever is a killer for the abs!

amazingemmet

I don't really train it anymore but when i did focus on it and similar stuff i could get 1min+ and do front lever pull ups. A good tip for it is to lie on a bench and with your legs in the air and you ass hanging over the edge get a good grip and then lower into a hollow shape and hold. Its good as it lets you build the ab strength with out having to kill your shoulders. Also stag and straddle lever are good progessions.