motivation for ab work outs "/

honeydove
honeydove Posts: 39
edited December 19 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I am looking to lose 13lbs (mainly in my stomach area) I really really really dislike doing sit-up/curls/crunches :grumble: . I'm 5'1 and 138lbs, Any advice, tips on great works outs for the abs besides the sit-up :/

Replies

  • jjblogs
    jjblogs Posts: 327 Member
    6 week/6 pack dvd by Jillian Michaels
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    You don't need to do anything to target abs. There is no way to spot-reduce, so you are free from having to do any ab exercises. The only way to get better abs is to lose body fat, and anything that reduces body fat will improve your abdominal definition.

    The best workout for most people involves resistance training. Check our New Rules of Lifting for Women (I haven't actually read it, but I see it constantly recommended here, so I will go out on a limb and do so as well).
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    You don't need to do anything to target abs. There is no way to spot-reduce, so you are free from having to do any ab exercises. The only way to get better abs is to lose body fat, and anything that reduces body fat will improve your abdominal definition.

    The best workout for most people involves resistance training. Check our New Rules of Lifting for Women (I haven't actually read it, but I see it constantly recommended here, so I will go out on a limb and do so as well).

    Best news ever!! :happy: Thank you!
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    6 week/6 pack dvd by Jillian Michaels

    Thank you I will defin look into it..i'm on a mission (vac countdown t-minus 30 days) :)
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    Yup, I don't do much abs exercises. I find full body, compound & plyometrics exercises to be more effective in losing the fat to revealing the abs and strengthening the core, in addition to strength training.
  • raeraeti
    raeraeti Posts: 108
    There's always youtube abs videos! They're all under 10 minutes usually. It'll wake you up in the morning, and even if you hate doing abs it's really short and easy to get over with.
    Also, I would recommend crossfit.com for an overall daily workout that isn't too time consuming or miserable but will get you really sore:)
  • hsaab
    hsaab Posts: 36
    There are ab videos on youtube or for example insanity or p90x have 15m ab workouts that really work. I usually just do the ab work outs theyr not too extreme n they work your whole core not just ur abs like situps they dont work that great or at least i feel. Its also much funner and after the first time ur stomach aches, best feeling ever since it feels like ur actually working them out!
  • LooseWheel
    LooseWheel Posts: 211 Member
    Full core workouts are a better thing to focus on as thats the muscles around your whole middle. Front, sides and back muscles. Doing exercises with a weight ball involving twisting is good all round. Cardio is needed to burn fat, plus as others have said, you cant 'spot' fix a specific area. If you stomach was the first spot to gain weight, it'll be the last. But if you do a mix of cardio and core work, you will start seeing a difference in cm's being lost all over. Keep measuring yourself every 2 - 3 weeks as the scales may not show much. Best of luck. It is an area I'm attacking also! Just gotta stick with regular burns hey. cheers.
  • bufgal8
    bufgal8 Posts: 2
    I also use the P90x and Insanity abs routines for my abs. But, Shaun T has hip hop abs that is NO laying down crunches. I love his workouts, even though I think I look foolish dancing around my living room like that! :laugh: But it works.
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    you have to keep eating right and lose more body fat %
    If you are eating less than 1400 you're probably undereating.
  • BruteSquad
    BruteSquad Posts: 373 Member
    You don't need to do anything to target abs. There is no way to spot-reduce, so you are free from having to do any ab exercises. The only way to get better abs is to lose body fat, and anything that reduces body fat will improve your abdominal definition.

    The best workout for most people involves resistance training. Check our New Rules of Lifting for Women (I haven't actually read it, but I see it constantly recommended here, so I will go out on a limb and do so as well).

    ^^ This. And due to the sense of humor that is human genetics, you will lose it where you don't want first, and where you do want last......
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    You can't target fat loss hun. You just gotta burn off the fat with cardio and it leaves your body however it wants to lol. You can do core exercises to help strengthen your muscles though. There a ton of ways to do this without doing situps and such. My favorite program is turbo fire because it has high intensity cardio to burn off the fat but focuses alot on core strength.

    Abs are 70% made in the kitchen though, so your diet is the biggest factor on your abs actually showing through.
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    you have to keep eating right and lose more body fat %
    If you are eating less than 1400 you're probably undereating.

    eating right is the hard part but im trying.. I just joined last week and My daily goal is 1200 and so far i've been under my goal (some days way under, where the notification pops up and says im starving myself) but I feel like if I eat more i'll never lose the belly "/
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    I also use the P90x and Insanity abs routines for my abs. But, Shaun T has hip hop abs that is NO laying down crunches. I love his workouts, even though I think I look foolish dancing around my living room like that! :laugh: But it works.

    oooh sounds like fun!
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    you have to keep eating right and lose more body fat %
    If you are eating less than 1400 you're probably undereating.

    eating right is the hard part but im trying.. I just joined last week and My daily goal is 1200 and so far i've been under my goal (some days way under, where the notification pops up and says im starving myself) but I feel like if I eat more i'll never lose the belly "/
    if you stay under you'll never get rid of the belly. Trust me, i've been watching my calories on this site for over 2 years :)
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    You can't target fat loss hun. You just gotta burn off the fat with cardio and it leaves your body however it wants to lol. You can do core exercises to help strengthen your muscles though. There a ton of ways to do this without doing situps and such. My favorite program is turbo fire because it has high intensity cardio to burn off the fat but focuses alot on core strength.

    Abs are 70% made in the kitchen though, so your diet is the biggest factor on your abs actually showing through.

    I really have to step up my cardio then... i've been trying to jog everyday (i think my jog is the equivalent to fast walk though) for a half hour but i don't feel like it's good enough and i don't have the best diet "/ so i've been trying to eat less and stay under my calorie goal hoping that will help. but i do feel better knowing i don't have to do crunches! :)
  • taxidermist15
    taxidermist15 Posts: 677 Member
    women+abs.jpg

    ^^ motivation
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    women+abs.jpg

    ^^ motivation


    Woooow, Thanks!!
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    you have to keep eating right and lose more body fat %
    If you are eating less than 1400 you're probably undereating.

    eating right is the hard part but im trying.. I just joined last week and My daily goal is 1200 and so far i've been under my goal (some days way under, where the notification pops up and says im starving myself) but I feel like if I eat more i'll never lose the belly "/
    if you stay under you'll never get rid of the belly. Trust me, i've been watching my calories on this site for over 2 years :)

    oh noooo eat more?! :(
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    oh noooo eat more?! :(
    I'd recommend you calculate your TDEE and do a 300-500 calorie deficit on that, given you have <20 pounds to lose (according to your profile). 500 calories = 1 pound/week (you will not actually see it exactly like that, due to water retention, hormone cycles, etc. but try it for 2-3 months and you should see roughly 8-12 pounds down). If you aren't losing at that rate in that time period, verify you are counting calories and workout expenditures properly, and reduce intake if necessary. If you start feeling extremely exhausted, decrease exercise and/or increase caloric intake. I would recommend against anything faster than that, as you'll lose a lot of muscle as well, and end up probably not looking the way you want even at goal weight.

    Make sure to get adequate protein (probably around 120-150g per day, which is almost certainly more than you're getting now... find a good protein powder if needed).

    If you aren't doing strength training, give it a try, it will give better results much faster than cardio. You will not "bulk up" while on a caloric deficit (even as a novice it is virtually impossible to add a significant amount of mass on a caloric deficit). If you lift, you probably will want to be more towards the 300 cal deficit, as you will burn a LOT more calories once you get your intensity up.

    Hope that helps.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Hi,

    I am looking to lose 13lbs (mainly in my stomach area) I really really really dislike doing sit-up/curls/crunches :grumble: . I'm 5'1 and 138lbs, Any advice, tips on great works outs for the abs besides the sit-up :/
    If you looking to lose, then just stay in calorie deficit. You don't even need to do a sit up or ab exercise.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    oh noooo eat more?! :(
    I'd recommend you calculate your TDEE and do a 300-500 calorie deficit on that, given you have <20 pounds to lose (according to your profile). 500 calories = 1 pound/week (you will not actually see it exactly like that, due to water retention, hormone cycles, etc. but try it for 2-3 months and you should see roughly 8-12 pounds down). If you aren't losing at that rate in that time period, verify you are counting calories and workout expenditures properly, and reduce intake if necessary. If you start feeling extremely exhausted, decrease exercise and/or increase caloric intake. I would recommend against anything faster than that, as you'll lose a lot of muscle as well, and end up probably not looking the way you want even at goal weight.

    Make sure to get adequate protein (probably around 120-150g per day, which is almost certainly more than you're getting now... find a good protein powder if needed).

    If you aren't doing strength training, give it a try, it will give better results much faster than cardio. You will not "bulk up" while on a caloric deficit (even as a novice it is virtually impossible to add a significant amount of mass on a caloric deficit). If you lift, you probably will want to be more towards the 300 cal deficit, as you will burn a LOT more calories once you get your intensity up.

    Hope that helps.

    What is "TDEE"? Sorry I just joined last week so I'm new to all this. Thank u so much, the advice is great and very helpful :)
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Ah, TDEE = total daily energy expenditure. In English: How many calories do you burn in a day. The formulas for calculating it are not exact... just google TDEE calculator and you can find a ton (they should get you close enough, and you can tweak your calorie intake if you aren't getting the results you want). I recommend setting your calorie and protein targets manually (using the 'custom settings' thingy), as the defaults in MFP are not that good (the app itself is awesome though).

    Basically, however many calories you eat under TDEE is your energy deficit. That, over time, will result in fat loss. E.g. if you eat at a 300 calorie daily deficit, that is ~9000 calories/month, or a little over 2.5 pounds. When you only have a little bit of weight to lose, you are better off with a smaller deficit (0.5-1 pound per week is probably reasonable)... losing more than that in a healthy way is fairly difficult, and more trouble than it's worth. If you want to look 'toned' you need muscle mass, and if you lose it all dieting, it sucks, because as much of a pain as it is to lose body fat, it is 10x harder to add muscle (hence my 3300 calorie intake today O_o).

    Hope that helps.
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    If you only have 30 days to work with before vacation and want your tummy to look less puffy and more defined, you need to:

    1: Track your food on here RELIGIOUSLY.
    You need to NET above your BMR (which you can calculate here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). If you are netting below your BMR, your workouts simply won't be as effective in helping you shed extra weight. Your BMR is probably around 1400 - which isn't much higher than your current goal of 1200 - so an extra protein shake after you work out should do the trick (especially if you add peanut butter to it). Oh, AND you need to watch your sodium levels and make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Drinking more water and watching your sodium levels will help you shed more water weight, so you'll feel less "puffy".

    2: Exercise.
    As everyone on here is saying, you can't spot-reduce fat, so you're going to be looking for whole-body workouts that include strength training and cardio. Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred (30DS) is (in my opinion) a better short-term workout than her 6 Week Six Pack (6W6P; you can find both at Target for like $10 each, though, so it's your choice). 30DS does more whole body strengthening and has 3 different workouts instead of two, so you'll probably get bored of it less quickly than 6W6P. If you want more pure cardio to do instead of or in addition to a workout video, check out a couch to 5k (C25k) running program like this one (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). You should probably shoot to work out for at least 30 minutes per day for 5 or 6 days per week; if you do that for the next month you should be good to go for your vacay.
  • honeydove
    honeydove Posts: 39
    I'm so encouraged, thank u all.. :flowerforyou: all the advice is so informative and helpful. Flat Stomach here I come....:)
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