Question about abdominal routine

[variation]

Hi, currently this is my abdominal routine...

MONDAY---

Crunches
(3 sets of 50)

Side Crunches
(1 set of 50 on each side)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)

WEDNESDAY--

Crunches
(3 sets of 50)

Side Crunches
(1 set of 50 on each side)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)

FRIDAY--

Leg raises
(3 sets of 12)

Bicycle movements
(3 sets of 60 seconds)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)


----------------------------------------

Any Ideas on how I can improve? Am I doing too many reps on my crunches and perhaps should be doing less, with more weight?
any help would be appreciated! .. thanks

 

[skaman607]

cut down the reps and use weight too, try for sets of ten

 

[variation]

abdominal training

ok, thanks.. any idea about how much weight I should be using.. if I can do 50 a set and am fairly tired?

currently I'm 6'3" 169 pounds.

 

[gymtime]

I think you are doing much more than is necessary, considering you're underweight. I'd do them on one day only, maybe work toward adding some weight like skaman said.

 

[b fold the truth]

Crunches???

B True

 

[variation]

underweight?

hmm.. I was hoping to try and eliminate 20 more pounds of fat..
I want my skin to be as tight as the skin on a drum, while maintaining a strong build, I've been working on weight lifting for a few months now and have noticed decent increases, I'm trying to keep my protien levels as high as I can, it's not easy being vegan though.. but it's good because alot of the fake meats are very hight protien, and I drink lots of soy milk.

 

[needsize]

I just do weighted static holds with weight, maybe 1x per week if that, and its built me some great abs, I dont see the need to train them so often

 

[variation]

abs

cool, thanks I'll have to give static holds a try, I just looked up some information about them.

 

[CollegeKid]

variation: that's cool that you're vegan (i've been vegan 7yrs now). you're gonna have to put a LOT of effort into diet as a vegan though, it can be tough getting all the protein you need to build muscle. stop eating those trendy "fake-meat" products, they're expensive and really don't have that much protein. same with soy milk. i reccommend you check out www.proteinfactory.com, they have the best price on soy protein isolate (i buy it 20lbs at a time), and you can flavor it any way you want. beans, lentils, and nuts are also good for cheap but good protein. also, look into supplementing your diet with some omega fatty acids as you more than likely aren't getting enough (i.e. start taking flax seed oil, the one i like the most is Udo's Choice). there's lots more about diet that you'll have to learn about, do some searches on post-workout meals and carbs and you'll be on your way.

oh, and about the abs, you are wasting your time with all those non-weighted exercises. hit em hard with big weights and they'll come out of hiding.

 

[variation]

oh, that's great thanks for the information collegekid, I've been vegan almost a year now, and vegetarian most of my life (on and off in the earlier days) I am 19 now.. I've been thinking about purchasing some soy protien isolate at the local grocery store, they have some pretty good prices, I think it was 16 dollars in canadian funds, probably about what 9 or 10 US dollars.. for 20 servings, each containing 22 grams of protien 0.4 g of fat 2 carbs and low calories.. can't remember exact, but it's the best I've seen around here... I have been taking a teaspoon of flax oil each day for the past 3 months (is this enough?) .. I don't mind like the soy hot dogs, cause they have about 13 grams of protien per dog.. about 3 bucks canadian for a pack of 6.. with low cal, low fat, low carb..
as for the abdominal exercises ya, I'm definately going to start to add weight to them now, (thanks everyone) I'm just not sure how much weight to start with, I guess I'll just experiment with different amounts, unless anyone has some suggestions.

thanks!

 

[variation]

btw, how many servings approx do you get from a pound of the soy protien isolate from that website?

 

[CollegeKid]

variation: im 19 as well bro. about the flax, i take 3 teaspoons a day, plus 2 tsps freshly ground flax mixed in with my oatmeal in the mornings (for the lignans) and i STILL think i may not be getting enough fat, so i may up my amounts some.

there're 448 grams in a pound, and you want to take in at least 1g of protein (though preferably more) per pound of body weight... so you do the servings math. the stuff from proteinfactory is by far the tastiest and most economical i've come across. i literally drink this stuff all day long and i still haven't gotten sick of it .

about the abs.. to give you an impression of what it takes to get em to show, i didn't even see mine until i started doing weighted decline situps. right now i hold 70lbs dumbells in each hand and do two sets of 10 of those decline situps twice a week, and i can finally see a full six pack. time to work on the 8pack now.

 

[Citruscide]

I just do weighted static holds with weight, maybe 1x per week if that, and its built me some great abs, I dont see the need to train them so often

Interesting... I'm thinking of STARTING my ab routine... along with some light cardio... lol -- I think getting my abs more in might, just MIGHT strengthen some of my lifts... and take some strain of my back.

So, would you simply hold a plate on your chest while at an obtuse angle???

C-ditty

 

[spatts]

variation, you've gotten soem good advice. I'd just like to add that muscles grow while you're recovering. Everytime you rip the muscle fibers and let them heal, they heal larger. This is "hypertrophy," or muscle growth. Re-ripping the fibers before they heal can be counterproductive to growth and development, because you never give the muscle the chance to go through the healing/growth stage.

In terms of being "tight" and "losing fat," you can't target burn fat. Crunch till the cows come home and you will not lose tummy fat. Sorry. That's [almost] all about diet.

I like variety, so I recommend training them for strength and size.

Good luck!

 

[b fold the truth]

So, would you simply hold a plate on your chest while at an obtuse angle???

C-ditty

I like to use bands for timed holds...

B True

 

[variation]

oh ya, I've read a few articles that said abs can recover within 48 hours of being worked, so that's why I assumed my timing plan would be ok. also I should mention I'm taking about 5 grams of creatine daily, and do cardio (skipping) in the mornings to help loose the fat. (I have head about tageted fat loss not possible, so really, I'm just trying to go for all over fatloss, since I think of it mostly as ineffcient body weight). and I would generally like to have strong muscles, but not so bulky that it interferes with speed or flexability since I practice kung fu and plan to enter some races in my area come september..

 

[variation]

current situation

this is a pic of me currently, I know it's not that impressive, but I've improved alot.. because I sat in my basement on the computer for like 2 years and had nearly no muscle and ate only pizza and pasta. In 8 months I've lost a fair bit of weight and I have become more serious about nutrition and exercise in the past 4 months

 

[spatts]

I think abs do heal faster from high rep work in some people. This is another reason I like to train them for both size and strength. Some of the low rep strength work we do leaves my ab wall burning for days...I dread having to sneeze.

 

[CollegeKid]

dude, forget about losing weight, you need to GAIN weight. up the protein a shitload, hit the iron HARD, i'd even go as far as saying that you should just cut the cardio out for a while. i don't see how you can get any skinnier, much less lose 20lbs. up your carbs during the daytime (lotsa whole wheat pasta, brown rice, oatmeal) eating 6 meals a day and u should be able to gain some badly needed mass.

 

[needsize]

Interesting... I'm thinking of STARTING my ab routine... along with some light cardio... lol -- I think getting my abs more in might, just MIGHT strengthen some of my lifts... and take some strain of my back.

So, would you simply hold a plate on your chest while at an obtuse angle???

C-ditty

This was taught to me by a powerlifter (800+ competition squat) as a means of strengthening my abs for squats. But after a month I noticed my abs were growing like crazy. Ever since(this wa 5 years ago) I have done only this, at most one time per week, and have pretty crazy abs.

Grab a decline bench and make it as steep as you can. Start with no weight, hands crossed on your chest, and slowly lower yourself about halfway down, to where you feel the most resistance. Hold for a slow count of 5, then come most of the way back up, that is one rep. Start off doing 5x5, with a SLOW count, you'll be shaking like a leaf when you're done. As soon as you can complete all 5x5, either add weight or reps for the next workout. I've worked up to 5x10 with a 45lb plate and its one hell of a workout.

Like I said, this is ALL that I have done for abs for years now, and I never train them more than 1x per week, and my abs bulge out so far I can see them when well over 10% bodyfat. Give it a shot, you'll be sore in some new ways when you're done

 

[variation]

hehe ok, well, I will try to eat more, but me and my girlfriend are on tight budget, plus I find it hard to eat so much.

currently this is a typical eating schedual for me

wakeup

water
vitamin c 1000mg 8 hour time release

breakfast

white long grain rice + veggies
soy milk

snack

flax oil
peice of fruit fruit

lunch

kidney beans and rice, bread
soy milk

snack

peice of fruit

dinner

pasta or rice with soup and bread
soy milk

snack

tofu or fruit


I usually drink about 8-16 cups of water per day
and take 5g of creatine every day (but different times depending on weather I'm doing my workout on the particular day
I workout mon wed friday right now

 

[Cloud-X]

I agree with you needing to lose 20 pounds

i think you should lose atleast 20 pounds (of fat) but then gain alot of that back in muscle, but unless you want to be a body builder, i dot think you need to gain anymore weight

 

[makedah]

Those of you who do the static holds on the decline bench - do you have any pre-existing low-back issues? I'm curious about this move but I fear it might be back for my back.

 

[variation]

hmm, I have no lower back issues, I've heard some articles talk of doing Hyperextensions after abdominal work so that back is properly supported aswell, and this will prevent an incorrect posture too.. I've been doing 2 sets of 12 of these after doing ab work.

 

[gymtime]

variation - what are your overall goals besides abs? What are you looking to accomplish body-wise?

 

[variation]

goals

well really, I hope to have abs most highly developed, strong chest.. I want a decent set of arms (without a lot of bulk, but slightly larger then an average arm build), decent back muscles, and strong legs.

I'll post the routine I was doing (I haven't updated the abs section here so this still includes my old stuff)

MONDAY ---

Dumbbell bicep curl
(4 sets of 14) (10 pounds)

Resistance Band exercises
(3 sets of 10 of each) (ones listed on the sheet I got with it)

Dumbbell Wrist curls
(3 sets of 12) (10 pounds)

Crunches
(3 sets of 50)

Side Crunches
(1 set of 50 on each side)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)

Hyper extensions
(2 sets of 12)


WEDNESDAY-------

Squats
(3 sets of 20)

Leg extensions (frontward)
(3 sets of 20)

Weighted Hamstring extensions (backward) (not sure on the name but basically you are on hands and knees and kick back)
(3 sets of 30) (with 5 pound weight brace on each leg)

Weighted frontward bend (Good mornings)
(3 sets of 20) (10 pounds)

Weighted Calve raises
(4 sets of 20) (10 pounds weight)

Side Leg raises
(3 sets of 20)

Crunches
(3 sets of 50)

Side Crunches
(1 set of 50 on each side)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)

Hyper extensions
(2 sets of 12)


FRIDAY---

Pushups
(4 sets of 10)

Dumbbell Shoulder press
(3 sets of 10) (10 pounds weight)

Dumbbell Side raises
(3 sets of 5) (10 pounds weight)

Leg raises
(3 sets of 12)

Bicycle movements
(3 sets of 60 seconds)

Waist twists
(4 sets of 30)

Hyper extensions
(2 sets of 12)



And thanks again to everyone that has offered advice and help, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[variation]

I don't have a heck of alot of gym equipment, just some dumbells and 4 5 pound weight braces for arms and legs + resistance band.

Although, I'm going to build myself a bench that I can change angles on, I've done a fair bit of wood work, so I think I can do it fairly well, thing is I don't have alot of money to spend on expensive training equipment.

oh ya.. there is a weight training room in my girlfriends building, perhaps I could use this if you think there's any machines that would be to my benefit

 

[zackdarnell]

Re: I agree with you needing to lose 20 pounds

i think you should lose atleast 20 pounds (of fat) but then gain alot of that back in muscle, but unless you want to be a body builder, i dot think you need to gain anymore weight

Id have to disagree on this one.

 

[gymtime]

Re: goals

well really, I hope to have abs most highly developed, strong chest.. I want a decent set of arms (without a lot of bulk, but slightly larger then an average arm build), decent back muscles, and strong legs....

Well, I will be honest with you. Given the diet/lifestyle you've chosen, adding muscle will be difficult if not impossible.

 

[CollegeKid]

variation: PM (private message) me if you want and i can try and set you on track.