I'm trying to find my abs through all these layers!
LrdTwitchyMcChin
Posts: 84
I have recently joined Gold's Gym in town and am wondering what is the best exercises I can do for my mid section? I know all about not being able to target certain areas and what not, but that seems to be the only real area I carry my weight.
Currently, I am on the elliptical for about 25 min and then light weights for about 40 min (alternating days of upper body and lower body, but I usually do core every time I go to the gym). From there I will swim laps in the pool (typically about 20 min or 10 laps/20 lengths). Recently I've also added crunches, oblique crunches and alternate/bicycle crunches.
Any workout recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have a tendency to hurt my ankles and knees so I'm trying to stay away from high impact. I did Insanity last year for about 3 weeks before my ankles had enough. That is something I will need to ease into again and strengthen my muscles more first.
Thank you for any constructive help you can give.
Currently, I am on the elliptical for about 25 min and then light weights for about 40 min (alternating days of upper body and lower body, but I usually do core every time I go to the gym). From there I will swim laps in the pool (typically about 20 min or 10 laps/20 lengths). Recently I've also added crunches, oblique crunches and alternate/bicycle crunches.
Any workout recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have a tendency to hurt my ankles and knees so I'm trying to stay away from high impact. I did Insanity last year for about 3 weeks before my ankles had enough. That is something I will need to ease into again and strengthen my muscles more first.
Thank you for any constructive help you can give.
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Replies
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fork put downs and table push aways0
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Considering you don't know my eating habits, there's not need to be a ****. I eat a pretty well balanced diet as if that was the topic here at all to begin with.0
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the only way you have visible abs is through diet. cutting. a deficit.
I'm not being an a%% that's just the reality.
you're diet may be balanced as my car tires- but if it's not at a deficit- it doesn't matter.0 -
Yep, can't spot reduce. Continue eating a reasonable calorie deficit and exercising. It's really that simple. The fat will come off where ever it wants to, you can't control it.I know all about not being able to target certain areas and what not, but that seems to be the only real area I carry my weight.0 -
You need to lose more body fat, no amount of crunches are going to do that for you0
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There is no exercise that will spot reduce or spot "tone" the area.
A smaller midsection comes from overall loss of BF%. You can do 10,000 crunches a day, but if your body has fat stored in other areas that it wants to use before midsection fat, it will. Your smaller midsection will come from:
Diet (caloric deficit..aka forkputdowns) + Work (cardio and compound strength) + patience (as the midsection is usually the last to go)
You can gain a smaller midsection with only 1&3, but may not like the results as much without the work.
One thing you will notice about individuals on this site with nice midsections; they actually do very little or no isolated ab work.0 -
I apologize if I over reacted. I just stopped using these forums months ago because of all the jerks who would rather put me down then give me solid advice. Although your advice is good, I already know this and do eat at a deficit. I'm wondering about exercises though not nutrition. I am starting over and am looking for more exercises to add to my routine as that is where I lack the knowledge.
Again, I apologize if I took you comment the wrong way. I'm just sick of being bashed by people like I'm a moron because I'm overweight. Life happens and sometimes you go down a path you wish you hadn't. Now all I can do is change that path. I guess I'm just a bit defensive on these forums now.0 -
Cardio!! Even low impact works
Get in good amount of fiber to get things flattening out, cut some carbs out, nothing crazy but just be mindful!
Good luck at golds!0 -
Considering you don't know my eating habits, there's not need to be a ****. I eat a pretty well balanced diet as if that was the topic here at all to begin with.
What she is saying is that visible abs are made in the kitchen. Yes, you have to work to build those muscles, but visible abs are a bi-product of a very low BF%...thus the saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen." You can work your abs until your blue in the face, but if you don't have a very low BF%, they will not really be visible.0 -
eat at a deficit, strengthen your body in general, and do cardio if you like/need it to have a dietary deficit. There is no rocket science to the equation to reach a reasonable body fat %.0
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Lose the light weights and get big honkin heavy ones. As big as you can. Lift heavy. Squats and deadlifts work the core pretty hard.
Read up on heavy lifting for women. Those little weights only help if they are the heaviest thing you can lift.
And eat at a deficit of course.
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Cardio!! Even low impact works
Get in good amount of fiber to get things flattening out, cut some carbs out, nothing crazy but just be mindful!
Good luck at golds!
the only reason why this would work, is if by making these changes, they put you into a deficit position.
my fat loss and cardio came from running, and it did help me shed some fat.
boxing and high intensity training is where the rest really melted the fat away. *not literally lol*
doing core work is great, because once the fat is gone, you want to see those strong muscles. But you won't see them unless you keep working at a deficit.
If you are patient, it doesn't even have to be a big deficit.
Also...keep up the strength training... the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn than just having fat. (Non technical way of saying that muscle helps you metabolize faster.... or something like that)0 -
Planks, Side planks, mountain climber, leg raises. Good luck!!! and keep the good work0
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Planks, Side planks, mountain climber, leg raises. Good luck!!! and keep the good work
Good core exercises, but it still comes down to lowering BF through deficit, cardio and strength, and patience.
You can do all these exercises all day long, but if you body has fat to burn on areas other than the abdomen, it will take from there first as with all exercises.0 -
the only way you have visible abs is through diet. cutting. a deficit.
I'm not being an a%% that's just the reality.
you're diet may be balanced as my car tires- but if it's not at a deficit- it doesn't matter.
This. And you can't spot reduce, so when you do cut your body fat, no guarantee it's going to come off your stomach first.0 -
Lose the light weights and get big honkin heavy ones. As big as you can. Lift heavy. Squats and deadlifts work the core pretty hard.
Read up on heavy lifting for women. Those little weights only help if they are the heaviest thing you can lift.
And eat at a deficit of course.
This.0 -
1-Full body, big muscle strength training 3Xweek(not millions of setups and crunches! I love StrongLifts Its all done with the Barbell and some weights and the results are fabulous!)
2-Cardio a few times a week (Mountain biking is my favorite, but i'll elliptical machine it if I must.)
3-Eating healthy food at a slight deficit.
4- Yoga ( I think this is optional but I highly recommend it!)
It is all about consistency. Choose healthy foods, don't over eat. Don't skip your workouts!
I love the body this routine gives me...Curvy (muscle kind not fat) and fit!
It just takes consistency and patience.
Which is the hardest thing of all!0 -
I lost 170 lbs and I know I have a six pack in there somewhere. The loose skin will shrink with time, especially if you exfoliate on a regular basis and remove old skin cells so new ones build a tighter skin. Drink the requirement of water for you and 3 more things. Cardio, cardio, cardio. Your mid-section has built an apron of fat, dedication and hard work will get you there. Don't go totally by the scale either. Burn away the fat and your muscle will shin through. I wish you all the best.0
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I'm wondering about exercises though not nutrition. I am starting over and am looking for more exercises to add to my routine as that is where I lack the knowledge.
Barbell squats, dead lifts, bench press. Heavy weight, low reps. Body weight crunches etc won't do much.0 -
hey I have a solution for you weighted hula hooping ! it really works and tones the muscles my abs are rock hard when i tense, but i have a lil chub over the top so can't see it really, but can in the morning! but try weighted hula hooping, it really works and tones the stomach muscles and brings in the waist.. 0
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fork put downs and table push aways
:laugh: :sad: :laugh: :drinker:
EDIT: This was not at the expense of OP, seriously just thought the joke was funny. I'm going to use this lol How about couch standups?0 -
I have recently joined Gold's Gym in town and am wondering what is the best exercises I can do for my mid section? I know all about not being able to target certain areas and what not, but that seems to be the only real area I carry my weight.
Currently, I am on the elliptical for about 25 min and then light weights for about 40 min (alternating days of upper body and lower body, but I usually do core every time I go to the gym). From there I will swim laps in the pool (typically about 20 min or 10 laps/20 lengths). Recently I've also added crunches, oblique crunches and alternate/bicycle crunches.
Any workout recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have a tendency to hurt my ankles and knees so I'm trying to stay away from high impact. I did Insanity last year for about 3 weeks before my ankles had enough. That is something I will need to ease into again and strengthen my muscles more first.
Thank you for any constructive help you can give.
Well like you said, spot reduction doesn't exist, so just keep lowering your BF% and you will be fine.
That said, another good option for you is standing cable crunches. I do these exclusively for my core at the recommendation of a powerlifter that I follow. It applies to anyone, and since you're supposed to do them with heavy weight and you're standing, you only have to do 8-12 reps per set. Much better than crunches where you can't breath and need to do tons of them.0 -
1-Full body, big muscle strength training 3Xweek(not millions of setups and crunches! I love StrongLifts Its all done with the Barbell and some weights and the results are fabulous!)
2-Cardio a few times a week (Mountain biking is my favorite, but i'll elliptical machine it if I must.)
3-Eating healthy food at a slight deficit.
4- Yoga ( I think this is optional but I highly recommend it!)
It is all about consistency. Choose healthy foods, don't over eat. Don't skip your workouts!
I love the body this routine gives me...Curvy (muscle kind not fat) and fit!
It just takes consistency and patience.
Which is the hardest thing of all!
Great advice! 0 -
hey I have a solution for you weighted hula hooping ! it really works and tones the muscles my abs are rock hard when i tense, but i have a lil chub over the top so can't see it really, but can in the morning! but try weighted hula hooping, it really works and tones the stomach muscles and brings in the waist..
No...
You can't spot tone, and you can't spot reduce. You can do this all day long, but if your body has fat to burn from this exercise in other areas of the body, it will take from there.0 -
There are a million things you can do but the fact is eating a good diet and a mixture of cardio and strength training is what it will take and if you are like me the ab area will be the last to show the results you want but once you start to see them its awesome and makes all that work worth it.
Me personally I run, do squats and deadlifts and do a few different core exercises...everything from planks to crunches so you will need to pick the ones that work for you but again make sure you eat well, lots of fruit and vegatables for me along with fish and chicken breast0 -
I apologize if I over reacted. I just stopped using these forums months ago because of all the jerks who would rather put me down then give me solid advice. Although your advice is good, I already know this and do eat at a deficit. I'm wondering about exercises though not nutrition. I am starting over and am looking for more exercises to add to my routine as that is where I lack the knowledge.
Again, I apologize if I took you comment the wrong way. I'm just sick of being bashed by people like I'm a moron because I'm overweight. Life happens and sometimes you go down a path you wish you hadn't. Now all I can do is change that path. I guess I'm just a bit defensive on these forums now.
It's okay- I get it a lot- i tend to be very matter of fact with my advice giving. It really isn't personal and I'm not attacking you. I don't have any vested interest one way or the other in your success of failure. Meaning- I'm not not being nasty - or nice. just telling you what works. That being said I would LOVE to see you succeed. peopl eovercoming their own failures and challenges is very important to me. But I deal with a lot of people all day long who say the same things- here and in real life- so I stop trying to coach- I give facts- and people can accept it or turn to something like the ab ripper machine and the yogurt jelly bean soda diet and hope it works.
Lift heavy -eat at a deficit. Unfortunately NO amount of core work will help.
utilize the big compound lifts- people who have strong compound lifts- have strong abs. They train abs like they train biceps. every once in a while on a whim. Those are going to be WAY more effective for improving your body composition than 'core' work EVER will.0 -
fork put downs and table push aways
I think I'll post this exercise in my dining room! and YES on the advice about weight training.0 -
hey I have a solution for you weighted hula hooping ! it really works and tones the muscles my abs are rock hard when i tense, but i have a lil chub over the top so can't see it really, but can in the morning! but try weighted hula hooping, it really works and tones the stomach muscles and brings in the waist..
I have a friend who is a pro hooper! Her midsection had an amazing transformation, even though she was completely fit before and had low BF. It's unbelievable the abs she is rocking now, just from hooping as the difference.
You can't spot reduce (have to overtly say this) but apparently there are many cool ways to really hit the abs and have new and different parts pop out.
For the OP I agree with heavy instead of light weights, and make sure to learn how to actively use the abs in compound moves if you go compound-only.0
This discussion has been closed.
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