Ab exercises?

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Hey all, finally back into proper training after a year or so of doing just bits and pieces from time to time.

Anybody got any links to some ab exercises? I'm doing a lot of jogging at the moment and have lost a lot of weight, but I want to tone up my stomach more so just looking for some decent exercises

Thanks!

EileenG

Plank is a great one. So much harder than it looks. If that starts getting easy, you can get someone to put a heavy plate on your back.

Basic crunch, reverse crunch, ball crunch, reverse ball crunch, ball pike, V-up, weighted crunches.

Dragon Flag (do a shoulder stand on a bench, holding on to the top, use your ab muscles to slowly lower yourself).

Wood chopper. Russian twist. Side crunch. Dead bug.

Don't forget back as well.

xebec

Check out Malteaser!'s log, she put an interesting and tough core workout in there today that might be a good place to start...

rubadub

Leg raises on a chinning bar.

I am also doing L-sits more now. I can hold a L-sit on 2 flimsy chairs or rings for about 8 seconds, on a chinning bar for about 12 seconds. I think I got better at them from doing "skinning the cat" on static bars.

Malteaser!

xebec wrote: »

Check out Malteaser!'s log, she put an interesting and tough core workout in there today that might be a good place to start...

That program is on this page and there's a little bit explaining about how to do it in a post or two following the program, though tbh if you haven't been doing direct ab before I wouldn't start on that one.

I haven't been doing direct ab work long myself, only 4-5 weeks before doing this one and it still absolutely killed me. I would recommend maybe learning what each of the exercises actually are and doing them for a minimum of 15-20 reps for about 3-4 weeks before starting to time it and doing the exercises one after another!

Also, you don't need to do the sit-ups with your feet on a wobble board or do the planks on bosu balls in the beginning , just start on the floor and as they become easier you can introduce them!

pvt.joker

Tried plank last night. Got a miserable 45 or so seconds. Do you need to keep on the tops of your toes the whole time, cos thats the part i found most uncomfortable?

OP, try bicyle ab excercises, they're probably the most efficient way of working the ab muscles

Do a youtube search on them for videos explaining how to do them. Same goes for any ab excercises in fact. All on youtube.

Malteaser!

pvt.joker wrote: »

Tried plank last night. Got a miserable 45 or so seconds. Do you need to keep on the tops of your toes the whole time, cos thats the part i found most uncomfortable?

OP, try bicyle ab excercises, they're probably the most efficient way of working the ab muscles

Yeah, you also need to make sure you stay completely flat. People tend to cheat without meaning to by letting their bum drop down or form a bit of an arch as it gets hard. Not saying that's what you did btw, I was doing it all the time when I started them because I wasn't sure about how they should feel and just had one of the instructors watch me a few times before I got the hang of them!!

pvt.joker

Malteaser! wrote: »

Yeah, you also need to make sure you stay completely flat. People tend to cheat without meaning to by letting their bum drop down or form a bit of an arch as it gets hard. Not saying that's what you did btw, I was doing it all the time when I started them because I wasn't sure about how they should feel and just had one of the instructors watch me a few times before I got the hang of them!!

Yeah I watched a few youtube clips of it, and made sure I stayed completely flat from ->head-shoulders-straight flat line to feet.

Felt the ab area getting used to support me after about 20 seconds, then the toes just gave way about 45. Will try again , Im sure it'll improve every time, hopefully :pac:

Malteaser!

Yeah and 45 seconds it really good for your first time! I heard that the average for somebodies first time is 20 seconds, dunno how accurate it is but I know I read it somewhere!!

PCB

op depending on whether you want strong abs or toned is what is going to determine how you want to train them.

if your goals are simply aesthethic based then a few sets of 20 crunches every other day will help but what you need to remember is that a six pack is made in the kitchen not in the gym. Everyone has a good set of abs it is just a case of being able to see them. By that i mean your body fat needs to be low enough i.e around the 8% mark, for them to be visible.

While abodominal excersises strengthen the muscles the only way to see them is through a combination of diet and cardio.

in summation: arms, legs, chests, back are made big and aestethic via consistent weight training and aesthetic abs come from getting your body fat low enough to see them:D

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Thanks for all the replies. My goal with my ab workouts are have a bit more definition on my stomach, but that is not my main goal. I'm hoping to start playing rugby again in September. I had played from the age of 6 until about 2 years ago when i went back to college and had to work weekends so didn't have the time to play. So I want to strengthen up my stomach muslces to be able to take all the contact again!