Ab techniques

Tiffany
Tiffany Posts: 34
edited September 18 in Fitness and Exercise
How many reps do you do for your ab routines. I just read an article in Muscles and Fitness Hers to do 1 ab day with 2 sets of 15 reps each and 1 set of 20 reps to total 50 reps per exercise and 48 hours later do 5 sets of 6 reps each for each exercise. The fitness model said this shocks the body. However, I have done 45 to 50 reps of each ab exercise for 5 years and I feel guilty only doing 30 reps. Has anyone ever tried this suggestion? Any sucess?

If not, I will try it for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

I always thought the more reps the better on the abs so I was suprised to see this suggestion.

Replies

  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    How many reps do you do for your ab routines. I just read an article in Muscles and Fitness Hers to do 1 ab day with 2 sets of 15 reps each and 1 set of 20 reps to total 50 reps per exercise and 48 hours later do 5 sets of 6 reps each for each exercise. The fitness model said this shocks the body. However, I have done 45 to 50 reps of each ab exercise for 5 years and I feel guilty only doing 30 reps. Has anyone ever tried this suggestion? Any sucess?

    If not, I will try it for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

    I always thought the more reps the better on the abs so I was suprised to see this suggestion.
  • deanea
    deanea Posts: 1,437
    Every week I switch it up. I have read that because the abdominal muscles are so small that you can work them out everyday if you wish. I do three to four different exersices almost everyday concentrating on the different ab muscles. Sometimes 15 reps X2 each, mixing with isometric holds. Sometimes I do 20-40 reps each X2 with a mixture of fast and slow with pulses. ( I think on average I do a total of 120-140 reps for the daily workout) I think you could do almost anything with the abs if you remember that it is the "crunch" that matters. Do you feel everyone one of them, or is momentum carrying the crunch? Just another idea for you.
    Anne
  • DrWhoFanatic47
    DrWhoFanatic47 Posts: 11
    Hey, ok for abs I do 30 v-ups, 30 rockies (when you go into a ball then to a hollow hold), 30 leg lifts, 30 regular crunches, and 30 then my feet are in the air and I life by head and my but at the same time. I try to do that twice a day. It sounds like a lot (it's 300 a day) but i started out doing 15 of each, and worked my way up. Becuase there's so many types that i do i think it works really well, but as soon as it gets too easy you hve to dot more!:wink:
  • Razboo
    Razboo Posts: 439 Member
    Generally speaking, low reps with higher resistance will produce more bulk, particularly in men. High reps at lower resistance will produce great definition with less bulk. Abdominal exercises are often done with no resistance or maybe a slant board. The differences in intensity come from the number of sets and the number of reps in the sets.

    Fewer sets with higher repititions will produce trimmer (less bulk) and well defined results. Doing more shorter sets will tend gain some bulk, especially if using a slant board or resistance. I've seen males with such muscle bulk in the abs that under clothing it could be mistaken for gut. Literally, the abdominal muscles significantly protrude past the ribcage even with the pectorals.

    My personal preferance is fewer, longer sets. For anyone wishing to reduce the waistline, that is what I would recommend.
  • filergirl
    filergirl Posts: 240
    I don't count much; rather, I work my muscles to the point of fatigue. Some days I can do more than others without "feeling the burn."

    That said, when I'm really tired, I commit to a certain number of reps before I start. I tend to like to do them in larger sets of 30-40 reps. I agree, re: fewer, longer sets. It seems to produce much better results for me.
  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    Thanks for your feedback.
  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    Great feedback everyone.
  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    You do 30 to 40 reps in a row of one exercise before going to another?
  • Xtracrispy69
    Xtracrispy69 Posts: 55
    Well from an interesting source, I live by arnold's encyclopedia, very informative. The man had killer abs and no more then 5 sets of 25 reps daily. I do such and its worked great. Only change I've made is I alternate posture to hit different ab areas. Remember we all have abs, but all hidden under a layer of fat or skin!
  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    Interesting technique.
  • ryanorr
    ryanorr Posts: 2
    For my abdomen excercises I find the key is just keeping it fresh. Doing the same ab excercise every day is okay if you want to build up to high reps, but I prefer to change it up each day. I generally do about 50-100 repetitions each day but switch between decline crunches, hanging (Or captain's chair) leg lifts, Bosu ball crunches (If you have access to a Bosu ball these are great!) and many others I pick up along the way. Another rule of thumb for myself is I try to focus mostly on lower-ab workouts. I found that my upper-abs were almost always stronger than my lower, and that they were getting worked out from other excercises I did. Focusing on my lower abs really helped me develop a good solid core. Good luck!
  • Tiffany
    Tiffany Posts: 34
    Thanks for the feedback. I always do two exercises of lower, two upper, two transverse and two oblique. Maybe I will focus more on lower. That area is always the hardest to get nice and hard.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories