Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
ALL HAIL Needsize Crunches!!!
- Thread starter Synpax
- Start date
Guinness5.0
New member
It's so important to use static work for the midsection to increase functional strength. I'm a big fan of NS situps when I do ab work.
needsize said:
Can you give me a link that describes them. I like to learn.
Thank you.
Guinness5.0
New member
They're quite simple really: using a decline bench you lower yourself til your torso is parallel with the floor, then hold that position for a 5 count, then perform a situp. Use weight if you can - like any exercise the goal is always to add weight when possible. I've seen NS advise 5x5 as the set/rep scheme, and I imagine other schemes would be effective. Personally I think 5's are great for developing a solid core for deads/squats etc.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
DZLS said:
G5 said:
Hm...
BiggT
New member
I like the 5's a lot, when things get easy, add weight. I read about these on this site and I really like them. I worked my way up to holding a 45 after about 3 months or so, and they are more effective that anything I've ever done, plus just mentally, adding weight for abs sure beats doing 75 reps anyday.
needsize said:
Really interesting. I can remember decline sit-ups being standard and then crunches came along.
I'm doing 4 sets of 12 now to a bit below parallel with a 25 plate. I'll start holding that mid position.
You all have sold me on doing these as well. Similar to Russian Twists for the obliques. I wonder why I've never thought to try the same principle for abs. These simple ideas are often the ones overlooked and at the same time prove to be very effective. 
gjohnson5 said:
All true... but I was thinking they'd be usefull from a functional strength standpoint as well.
DZLS said:
That was a good idea... Righteous pics.
silver_shadow
New member
oh yea NS crunches... good stuff. the only ab work i've been doing for the last 2 yrs, really helps the squats and DLs. thx NS and great to see you post after a long time.
DZLS said:
Thanks, I'm around 225lbs now, same as the avatar(I was pumped in that shot though). I was up to a pretty lean 240lbs, got the flu, dropped under 230lbs, took weeks to start gaining weight again, then just as I finished that cycle, got the flu again....dammit, but holding around 225lbs. I've been as high as 260lbs, but am also trying to stay leaner year round now
silver_shadow
New member
i think NS is around 5'9"DZLS said:
mad_monkey59
New member
My gym doesn't have a decline abs bench.
boo hiss etc...
boo hiss etc...
cwc73
New member
I'm a PT and i recomend people do these all the time. I have done them exclusively before, but I wonder about it because it is a static hold. Would a full sit up in the same circumstances with slightly more weight (to offset the 5 count) be more beneficial? I too did go down all the way after the static hold.
PS I just dont understand how the static hold is "great for deads and squats" Good yes, but better than a full rep? I dont know
PS I just dont understand how the static hold is "great for deads and squats" Good yes, but better than a full rep? I dont know
Guinness5.0
New member
Static holds hit muscles that don't get hit with typical up/down ab work. The rectus abdominus is getting the lion's share of the work that wya, whereas much of the underlying musculature of the nmidsection gets hit harder when you hold a postion under tension.cwc73 said:
And eat big - front squats are another awesome way to hit the core w/out direct ab work. I'm on the portly side (mid/upper teens BF) and have seen visible changes in my midsection (obliques particularly) since doing heavy front squats.
Beachbum1546
New member
I have to tell you guys. I haven't trained abs in about two years and today I tried NS sit-ups. Holy dear jesus bible book names that shit killed me! I didn't use any weight at all and I couldn't even finish all five sets. By the third set I would try to hold for the five second static but my abs would fail and I would plop down onto the bench. I would end up just doing crappy looking sit-ups with a slow negative.
I able to complete four sets which wiped me out for the rest of the workout. It was hard but I know if I keep doing them they'll get better and I hope my ab muscles get a little bigger and "pop" more.
I able to complete four sets which wiped me out for the rest of the workout. It was hard but I know if I keep doing them they'll get better and I hope my ab muscles get a little bigger and "pop" more.
kethnaab said:
I found them difficult at first also- just as you described. What I ended up doing was to hold the bar in my hands like the beginning of a military press instead of resting it on my collarbone. It worked to keep my sense of balance and made squatting with the weight in front more 'natural'. After doing them this way for several weeks, I realized one day I was actually taking the bar to the correct position.
Looking back, I'd say if you can Hindu squat, you can front squat. Just find a way thats comfortable to manage an amount of weight, and keep working it into the right form.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
Oly shoes are godly when it comes to front squats. Love 'em.
Any weighted ab work done dynamically will make your abs "pop" more. The problem is, most people don't do the exercises properly, or they do the wrong ones.
Any weighted ab work done dynamically will make your abs "pop" more. The problem is, most people don't do the exercises properly, or they do the wrong ones.
mad_monkey59
New member
DZLS said:
thinking about it no they don't even have that, they have benches that you can make go into a decline (by putting plates under one end) but there is nothing to hook your feet under.
It gets worse, we aren't even allowed to bring a 15kg dumbell into the abs area because of health and safety (incase i drop the weight on someone) when I asked a member of staff where I was supposed to do my weighted situps he said the free weights room... so im not allowed to use one dumbell incase I drop it on someone, but I can in go into the free weights room which is full of people throwing weights around because it safer?.. and weighted dips are completely out of the question, lol... God my gym sucks.
silver_shadow
New member
you could also trip and land knee first on someone in the abs areamad_monkey59 said:
djeclipse
New member
I tried these yesterday at the end of my 5x5 workout. I did them for 5 sets fo five. I started with a 5lb plate.
I want to get these straight, You decend until your body is parallel with the floor, hold for 5 seconds, then perform a sit up?
My question is about breathing, I found that trying to hold my body there for 5 seconds the hardest part was my breathing. I tried to hold my breath for the 5 seconds but on rep 4 and 5 I couldn't. When I went to take a breath it was really hard to breathe and stay there.
What do you guys do?
I want to get these straight, You decend until your body is parallel with the floor, hold for 5 seconds, then perform a sit up?
My question is about breathing, I found that trying to hold my body there for 5 seconds the hardest part was my breathing. I tried to hold my breath for the 5 seconds but on rep 4 and 5 I couldn't. When I went to take a breath it was really hard to breathe and stay there.
What do you guys do?
Synpax
Well-known member
I try to hold my breath for the five. If I need to take the breath in the midst of the 5 secs, I just take it. But try to hold it and maybe take a little more than a quick rest between each rep to take a few good deep breaths.
Part of the reason you don't want to breath is that the air in your lungs helps you maintain the structure needed to support the weight.
Part of the reason you don't want to breath is that the air in your lungs helps you maintain the structure needed to support the weight.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
The valsalva maneuver (filling the diaphragm with air and holding) won't stabilize the core as much as people thing. Simply contracting the abdominal wall during movement, while proceeding to breathe normally, works better.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
Nah-uh, not usually. The TVA contracts, and the wall may do a degree, but if you consciously flex the abdominals during any movement, it makes it more difficult (that is, when it's a core movement). For squats, deadlifts, and OHP, you really should be breathing normally.
Everything I've seen has shown the abdominal "brace", as McGill calls it, to be better for protecting the lower back (the prime focus of either technique), as well as avoiding any risk of hemorrhaging. Yes, the blood pressure rising may not be an issue for most, but it's something to think about. Plus, I feel better flexing the abs (no pushing out or sucking in - people do it all wrong. A simple flex is fine) while breathing steadily for my sets.
Everything I've seen has shown the abdominal "brace", as McGill calls it, to be better for protecting the lower back (the prime focus of either technique), as well as avoiding any risk of hemorrhaging. Yes, the blood pressure rising may not be an issue for most, but it's something to think about. Plus, I feel better flexing the abs (no pushing out or sucking in - people do it all wrong. A simple flex is fine) while breathing steadily for my sets.
They teach useful breathing technique in yoga. When you meditate, you breathing becomes shallow and your able to maintain the proper core structure AI was talking about. All you have to do is totally concentrate on how much you really like doing these NS crunches, and breathing shouldn't be a problem.
