Sit Ups During Weight Loss Goal or When Goal Is Reached???

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Bluediesel
Bluediesel Posts: 82
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm trying to find out when is it best to start focusing on ab work? Would that be during my weight loss process or after I reach my goal. I hear different things. Like Your fat will just get harder and you will stay looking thick. etc.... Any opinons greatly appreciated.

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  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
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    I would work out all muscle groups while you are on your weight loss journey. Not only does muscle burn more calories at rest than fat does, but for me the focus is on becoming healthy which includes being stronger as well as losing weight.

    Your abs are not there for show, you need them to be strong to carry out every day activities as well as to support your back, etc. and help keep you from getting injured.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Your fat will get harder??!! It's your muscles that will get harder. During weight loss. And after weight loss to maintain.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Fat doesn't get hard. Muscle can firm up though. If you use heavy weight and low reps you can build bulk in your abdominal muscles just like you would in any other muscle, which is why some people are afraid of ab work. They think that the muscle will push the fat out farther and make them look fatter. Personally, I do a lot of core training with no weight or body weight and don't have a problem with looking thick in the middle. In fact, most of my clients have commented on the fact that the ab work I give them making them feel like they are wearing a girdle with how the muscle holds the fat in. I recommend doing total body training while losing weight, including abdominals.
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Your fat will not get harder. That is funny! Anyhoo, your abs can be developed at anytime. You just will not see them until after the fat is decreased in the midsection. So you can build them now and when the fat starts to come off you will be like "wow I have abs!" Or you can wait until there is little fat on your tummy and then start to do them.
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
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    I've been doing abs (and other strengthening exercises) during my entire journey.

    Hope this helps :)

    Charmagne
  • countjackula
    countjackula Posts: 99
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    I'm trying to find out when is it best to start focusing on ab work? Would that be during my weight loss process or after I reach my goal. I hear different things. Like Your fat will just get harder and you will stay looking thick. etc.... Any opinons greatly appreciated.

    Do ab/core work along with your regular workouts. Your fat won't "get harder"... what you might be thinking of is that stronger and bigger abdominal muscles will give you a bigger waistline. This is -technically- correct but unlikely to be an issue... for the same reason you would still do bicep work even if you were trying to lose fat. 16" biceps when you're ripped to shreds will look better than 16" biceps of fat. The same applies to your waist and abs.

    Not to mention all the functional lifelong benefits that a stronger core will provide (as mentioned by karenmi above).
  • BoresEasily
    BoresEasily Posts: 582
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    If you're interested in your core, planks and squats strenghten your entire core area. As do burpees and a bunch of other full body exercises. Plank alone is better than sit-ups. I'm not saying completely discount any ab exercises but you don't need to worry about a weak core if you're doing a lot of exercises like deadlifts and planks and squats and so forth that strengthen that whole area.
  • BoresEasily
    BoresEasily Posts: 582
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    Listen to everything that Tonya said.
  • KcFitCoach
    KcFitCoach Posts: 135 Member
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    I would work out all muscle groups while you are on your weight loss journey. Not only does muscle burn more calories at rest than fat does, but for me the focus is on becoming healthy which includes being stronger as well as losing weight.

    Your abs are not there for show, you need them to be strong to carry out every day activities as well as to support your back, etc. and help keep you from getting injured.

    Exactly what this person said. WORK all your muscles! Get that metabolism revving. Stronger core, stronger body, better metabolism!
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    If you're doing P90X then you should work all of your muscles. Your ab muscles support your back. You should be doing Ab Ripper X and Core Synergistics as the program suggests. Working your core muscles will tighten your mid-section. And like everyone said, fat doesn't get hard. Muscle gets hard.
  • Bluediesel
    Bluediesel Posts: 82
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    Thanks Everyone!!!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Definitely as you go.

    Even if you do happen to grow mega ab muscles (which is obviously going to be difficult/near impossible) on a calorific deficit then any increase in waist size doesn't usually make much difference visually IMO. I am pretty thick around the middle but have pretty good core strength so you can still see abs. (well 4 of em :P)

    BTW I recommend getting an ab wheel. They are about $20 on ebay and they are a great core workout. I also do weighted situps. Otherwise, all core work is done through compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and overhead pressing.

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