What abdominal exercises work best?

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  • medangel06
    medangel06 Posts: 25
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    Awesome question - Thank you!!
  • fisherlassie
    fisherlassie Posts: 542 Member
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    bump
  • PatriceMG
    PatriceMG Posts: 232 Member
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    Bump!
  • NYChick84
    NYChick84 Posts: 331 Member
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    BUMP!!! :)
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Plank variations are the best! Also certain types of weight lifting that involve engaging core stability (you will feel it).
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
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    I have NEVER been able to see my abs no matter how many crunches, side crunches, leg lifts, etc. I did! I have been doing the Insanity program for 6 weeks now, and I can see some definition in my abs starting to show up. Shaun T incorporates cardio exercise with ab strengthening exercises. I had always heard that no matter how toned your abs are, you can't see them until you get that layer of fat off that lays right on top of them; well, it's true! I still have the "mommy pooch" that I'm working on, but I can see my obliques and the top ab muscles now, and I NEVER thought I would! Hope this helps you! :flowerforyou:
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,023 Member
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    thanks for sharing
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
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    For me, heavy lifting, captain chair raises and planks did it for me. Also, if you have an Iphone, there is a free ab exercise app that is tremendous. Just downloaded it a few days ago and it mimics the exercises that have been bumped on this thread several times, but a coach makes you finish them....

    Good Luck!
  • LinaBo
    LinaBo Posts: 342 Member
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    Well it depends. If you have stomache fat then you would want to stop all crunches and sit-ups and just do cardio (eliptical is great for burning fat calories). If you dont have that much fat, then you would obviously do alot of sit-ups. The best kinds of sit-ups are twisting sit-ups. If you dont know what that is, Its where you twist to your left or right as your sitting up. But the trick is to twist to your left, then without going down, twist to your right, then complete your sit-ups. This technique works for like 90% of people who do it.

    I disagree with this. You don't have to wait to start doing ab work until you have a certain amount of fat. Strength training is good at ANY bodyfat percentage. You just won't SEE all your results until you reach a certain bodyfat %, but that's true with all muscle groups, not just abs.

    Ah, you beat me to it, thistimeismytime. Anyway, I agree that you definitely do not have to avoid strength exercises on ANY part of your body, while trying to lose body fat. I'm just huge right now (261 lbs, I'll admit), and I've been reducing my body fat percentage and making myself smaller through lots of lifting and other strength work. I lift heavy, I feel awesome, my muscles are so strong that I can even see some definition through all of my padding. Waiting to build muscle until you become "skinny fat" just ends up wasting your time.

    As for my own ab work, I do weighted crunches (started non-weighted, now doing it with a 35 lb plate), air bike (aka bicycle crunches), and I also do a form of ball walkout that a former trainer taught me, works for hamstrings but noticeably seems to recruit my lower abs when I started doing it again after a long while without it, but I don't know an exact name. It starts with sitting on the ball, then walking out with the feet while holding a bridge position, until the shoulders just rest on the ball (like in the second photo for this exercise: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/physioball-hip-bridge), then walking yourself back into the starting position. I'll look into that one some more with my former trainer, once she's back from her summer break.

    One thing I definitely make sure of, which a lot of people forget about, is to work the transversus abdominus. This is essentially your internal girdle, and exercising it can actually help pull your waist in a bit. It might prove useful for women who have had children and whose abs "aren't the same". In between sets of my other ab exercises, and sometimes just thrown in on other breaks throughout my upper body workout, I do stomach vacuums. I'm up to 30 seconds per contraction: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/stomach-vacuum
  • Lexyvaness
    Lexyvaness Posts: 5
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    If you can find the P90x ab workout, that is the best. It hits all the muscles in your abs and back to strengthen at the same time. If you know someone who P90x, they may be able to burn you a copy of the ab workout. I was sore for days from it but it has amazing results.
  • DetroitKilljoy
    DetroitKilljoy Posts: 37
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    bump
  • Tat2dDom624
    Tat2dDom624 Posts: 1,226 Member
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    A lot of people will tell you that the best way to get abs is through heavy weight lifting, which I agree with. However, if you want to work your abs separately this is the workout I do. I have noticed a difference since starting it 2-3 times a week. Most of the time after an ab workout my abs aren't sore, but with this one I am always sore afterwards. I love it! If you don't know some of the exercises, google them. The whole workout only takes about 10 minutes.

    275282595943739047_rb8dGExF_f.jpg


    Thanks for sharing that. I'm gonna give it a try.
  • busymomto5PA
    busymomto5PA Posts: 62
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    Need this now but will use later!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Also, if you are looking for a specific program you could do The New Rules of Lifting For Abs (book).
  • ChasingStarlight
    ChasingStarlight Posts: 424 Member
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    As soon as I get off this computer, I am going to go do that list!
  • PrincessNikkiBoo
    PrincessNikkiBoo Posts: 330 Member
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    BUMP!
  • johnverde
    johnverde Posts: 1
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    I always check out this website before buying any products about abs workouts sixpackabs.reviewsfromtheweb.com a personal favorite of mine is truth about abs because it is an easy system that anyone can follow.
  • bmfoley
    bmfoley Posts: 93 Member
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    bump
  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
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    bump, definitely saving that 300 workout

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