Abs?

You need weights, kettle bells.......... xx Try youtube.. there are loads of different ways to use them, but personally I they dont like me and always try and knock me out.. LOL xxx

Personally, to achieve strength and definition in *all* areas of your trunk/abs, I think you need a dynamic full range of motion. No single exercise (example: crunchies, situps, planks) is going to give you washboard abs because you have different muscles that make up the "washboard".

I have been VERY successful with kickboxing. The combination of movement has defined my entire abdomen and I am extremely happy with the result. This becomes a combination of: front/side/back kicks, side-punches with a twist, leg-lifts/side raises, situps, etc.

Here is an excerp from the "SuperAbs Resource Manual" by Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/abdominal.html <-- CHECK OUT THIS LINK

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"Choose between 5 to 10 [ab] exercises, combining spinal flexion, rotation, and lateral flexion exercises. Perform 8 repetitions of each exercise before going on to the next exercise. Every 2-3 weeks, you are advised to vary your workout (refer above for ways in which to vary your program). "

"Can I work the abdominal muscles daily?
Make sure you train them at least 3 - 5 days per week, with a daily workout being permissible. Unlike other muscles, you rarely fatigue the abdominal muscles enough so that they need an additional day to recover. This is because you are always working with the weight of your torso, in a limited range of motion, as compared to other exercises which may challenge the muscles with progressively heavier resistance. In practice, it actually makes sense to do some type of abdominal strengthening exercise on a daily basis to try and counteract the excessive tightening of your lower back muscles and hip flexors. Just because you may work the abdominals regularly, there should be no fear that these muscles will get too big. In fact, the abdominals are very thin muscles compared to other muscles, such as the deltoids, gluteals, hamstrings, biceps, and quadriceps. So, unless you are progressively overloading these muscles with additional external resistance, such as ab machines, it is unlikely that the abs will become “too thick.”

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Best of Luck!

-MimosaMay

This site: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/tone.html has sample videos of different workouts. Just look for ab workouts to find ideas. This isn't a video workout site, the videos are to show you how to do the exercises at the gym or at home.

Yep, bodybuilders have a saying: "abs are made in the kitchen" (Not that I've ever seen mine)

I found the "bicycle" move-elbow to opposite knee. I do about 300 of them after each workout. Also, I hold a 30 pound weight and do upper body lift from floor, about 20-30 reps.

tuck jumps and burpees

Does anyone know of any ab workouts that really work?? Right now, I only do planks. I have seen some improvement from that alone, but I'd really like to find other exercises to do with that. I also don't want to do videos.

Jillian Michaels has a workout DVD called "No more trouble zones" also a newer one called "6 week six-pack" I have almost all of her dvds but unfortunately have only ever used "30 day shred". Each time I use the 30 day shred I put so much into it that I cannot workout (or move) for the rest of the week. It's sad because I do level 1 and get up to day 3 and cannot do anything else for the rest of the week. Moving is painful for me ... I need to remember quality not quantity!

Anyway, you can look into her new 6 week six-pack dvd maybe that'll help ...

Personally, to achieve strength and definition in *all* areas of your trunk/abs, I think you need a dynamic full range of motion. No single exercise (example: crunchies, situps, planks) is going to give you washboard abs because you have different muscles that make up the "washboard".

I have been VERY successful with kickboxing. The combination of movement has defined my entire abdomen and I am extremely happy with the result. This becomes a combination of: front/side/back kicks, side-punches with a twist, leg-lifts/side raises, situps, etc.

Here is an excerp from the "SuperAbs Resource Manual" by Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/abdominal.html <-- CHECK OUT THIS LINK

---

"Choose between 5 to 10 [ab] exercises, combining spinal flexion, rotation, and lateral flexion exercises. Perform 8 repetitions of each exercise before going on to the next exercise. Every 2-3 weeks, you are advised to vary your workout (refer above for ways in which to vary your program). "

"Can I work the abdominal muscles daily?
Make sure you train them at least 3 - 5 days per week, with a daily workout being permissible. Unlike other muscles, you rarely fatigue the abdominal muscles enough so that they need an additional day to recover. This is because you are always working with the weight of your torso, in a limited range of motion, as compared to other exercises which may challenge the muscles with progressively heavier resistance. In practice, it actually makes sense to do some type of abdominal strengthening exercise on a daily basis to try and counteract the excessive tightening of your lower back muscles and hip flexors. Just because you may work the abdominals regularly, there should be no fear that these muscles will get too big. In fact, the abdominals are very thin muscles compared to other muscles, such as the deltoids, gluteals, hamstrings, biceps, and quadriceps. So, unless you are progressively overloading these muscles with additional external resistance, such as ab machines, it is unlikely that the abs will become “too thick.”

---

Best of Luck!

-MimosaMay

As a kickboxing instructor, I can truly say that I MAYBE directly do ab work once a month? As stated above, with all the lifting of your leg in kickboxing, your abs are automatically engaged.
And I DON'T have my clients do weighted ab exercises either. Just body weight.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

<---Doesn't really do alot of ab work.

Wow a gazillion different and interesting answers. Here's my answer


1. There are none, for all intents and purposes. I mean abs do what all muscles do. Contract and relax. Hypertrophy comes with overload and proper intake. You're trying to build muscle? Are you eating to build muscle? But you want to see your abs, so you're eating to lose fat? How does one do that? See the first dilemma? It's not if the exercise "works", they all do. The real question for the OP and so many others, is does your goal/expectations work with what you're eating?

2. Ab work is severely overrated. It's just not needed really. If you do a proper workout that works in the major movement patterns while holding stable, such as squats, presses, rows, deads, etc. Your abs will get plenty of work. There in lies the dilemma, for try to find someone who can properly teach you this. Other than that, top it off with some basic crunches, bicycles, reverse crunches or knee raises, any full range of motion movements. They all generally work the same way. It's all marketing. I've written once about abs on my site, check it out.

3. Every body wants to do a million ab exercises but don't want to balance that out with proper back/posterior chain work. I.e. deadlifts, rows, squats, etc. We don't want to do a proper leg squat, but we want THE MOST PROPER ab routine!!! Fitness industry marketing nonsense.

If your local gym has one, I highly recommend making good use of the Roman chair! Just a few sets of 10 and you'll quickly feel the burn. I used it 3-4 times a week for a month and did scarcely any other weight training and after a month I had little-to-no abdominal body fat!!