Crunches: yay or nay?

whereslisa

So I've got about 30lbs left to lose (have lost 35 in the past year) and when I hit my goal weight I dont want to have well, in all honesty, I dont want to be flabby or saggy. Mostly focusing on that with my stomach, butt/thighs and arms.

Crunches are about all I can do right now with my back issues which are explained below. I cannot do any push ups, I can do "girl ones" which involves being on my knees but only a few of those. Most other exercises seem to cause me back pain (I worry I dont do them right so I dont try often). I have been doing about 100+ crunches a day though, I can do 15-20 in a row then rest for about a minute and do more until I get to around 100.
Squats are another story, I did 60 one day (15 at a time) and my thighs hurt so bad the next few day I could barely walk up the stairs without crying so I only do about 20 a day now.

My question is, will doing these exercises help at all with toning? I cant afford to join a gym so dont bother suggesting that, I have tried but I just cant afford it. So I want to try to tone up myself as I continue to lose weight, I just dont want to do exercises that wont help lol.

Now, I am not that strong, I have fibromayalgia amongst many other issues, I have chronic back and shoulder pain, and signs that I may have beginning stages of degenerative disc disease and a very mild case of scoliosis. My chiropractor and muscle therapist are helping me with all this, but because of my issues I have to be careful not to put a lot of strain on my back and my neck also.

So, crunches/squats/leg lifts and etc, do they help? If so, how many would you personally suggest doing daily?

arditarose

Well...toning is just losing fat and revealing the muscle you have underneath. I have never done crunches. They won't really help you, especially in a deficit, with your goal to "tone". I'm hesitant to answer your question fully because of your health issues though. Anyway, exercising in general is great-and if anything will help with strength/flexibility/mobility.

Perhaps you can look into a bodyweight program. The one on nerdfitness.com is for beginners and you can find substitutes for anything that may cause you pain.

shadow2soul

Why not try and find a workout video or app that you like?

There are 30 day workout apps for squats, push-ups, and abs. I have the push-up one on my phone and Beginner Level 1: Day 1 was 3 push-ups. It slowly increases the amount you do and there are rest days as well.
There are also apps like PumpUp that have a workout generator. You tell it the amount of time you have, where you are, your fitness level, and what section of your body you want to work.

Sites like Fitnessblender.com have a wide range of fitness videos that you could use as well. I'm sure you could even find some on youtube.