abs workouts and spine/the back

[muayThaiPerson]

hey, i do 200 crunches a day and i everytime i roll up, i feel my spine against the floor. is this correct? i know im getting a workout becuase i feel it in my abs but....how far should i roll up when doing them?

 

[ace]

Just lift the shoulders off the gronud.
Try Back bridges for the spine.

They work well.
Hope this Helps.

 

[Carbon]

I heard that over training abs is a common mistake by alot of people.

I know I couldn't do 200 crunches a day but I have seen seen a body builder who reccomended to break it up.

I think he did 3 sets of 60 3 times a week.

If you over work your muscles you get a reverse effect and they actually shrink.

 

[MartialArtist]

Well, you can work your abs everyday. They are fairly small compared to something like the legs or the back so they don't need as much rest. When lifters have their training split, they spread the big muscle groups away from each other. Abs are what can be worked every single day though. But 200 is overdoing it.

 

[muayThaiPerson]

200 is overdoing it??

ive never heard that, my friend does 1000.

 

[redfive]

Your friend must have a lot of time on his hands. There is a point of diminishing returns. If you can do 200 - 1000, then your body is to used to the repetitions and your not gaining anything out of the exercise anymore. You will only sustaine what you have. I would try to mix it up with some other ab. work outs. I have great abs and a good six pack look, but your friend should look like a freak of nature if he truely does a 1000 a day. Why is the question. I had a friend who would do 200-400 push ups through out a day. He did just fine doing them, but he could not do a bench press worth a ****. His body was to used to the push ups. He was not used to the added resistance of the weights. So I told him to lay of the push ups and work more evenly his muscles. Now he benches just fine. To much of anything can be a bad thing. But in this case your just not going to gain anything out of doing so much. Mix it up with diffrent ab exercises with more resistance.

Redfive

 

[tmanifold]

I have always said that if you can do more than 20 or thirty crunches you are not doing them right.
Try this:
when doing the crunch imagine putting your shoulders to your hips. It is impossible but that is the concept. Place your hands on your abs so you can force yourself to use your abs only.

Now, for each rep hold for that count. e.g. hold for 4 secs on the fourth rep, 8 secs on the 8th rep, and so on. I am up to 13 now and I am shaking at 13. Aim for 20

Tony

 

[muayThaiPerson]

redfive, your post was worth reading. it was pretty interesting. what do u mean by looking like a freak of nature?
ur 6 pack was developed doing reverse crunches too right?

tmanifold, sound like a good workout, we do 30 of those at my weight traingni classes, people are like "argghhh". i can feel to but im used to it.

 

[Nightingale]

200 is probably a little extreme.

I'd suggest getting something like an "ab roller" or using one of the ab machines at the gym til you really get used to what proper form looks like.

when you're doing a crunch, make sure your hands are not behind your neck or assisting you in any way. my trainer made me rest my fingertips around my ears, so that way you can't pull yourself. think very carefully about the muscle group you're training, and make sure you pull the abs in when you do your crunch. if they bulge out, you're not doing it right.

 

[Carbon]

I don't care how you do ab workouts.

A man that has a very nice ab routine that has 10% Body Fat will never have the abs that a man with 4% Body Fat has.

Its all about Body Fight when your talking about the definition of muslces as spread out as the abs.

Its a different thing to have strength and endurance in the same excercise.

You should get a partner and do medicine ball drills, trust me this made me very soar on my my sides and lower back and stomach.

Its a very effective way, but the downside is you need to have a partner to do it.

 

[7starmantis]

I don't know that 200 is terribly extreme, 1000 is deffinatly, but 200 isn't too bad. In my own opinion though, you would get better results from maybe dropping to 150 and adding some variation to the abb routine. It will mix it up a bit, as well as give you better results. That just my opnion from my own experience.


7sm

 

[Carbon]

Ya 3 sets of 50 with longer holds of duration would help alot.

Try doing them on an incline as well.

 

[muayThaiPerson]

when you're doing a crunch, make sure your hands are not behind your neck or assisting you in any way. my trainer made me rest my fingertips around my ears, so that way you can't pull yourself. think very carefully about the muscle group you're training, and make sure you pull the abs in when you do your crunch. if they bulge out, you're not doing it right.

pull it in huh? ive heard that but forgot. thanks for the reminder. when u say it pops out, do u still get the 4-6 pack? and puuling it in, do u like sucking it in like fat people do?(no offense)

 

[Carbon]

He means your clenching your abs when you do the crunch to make sure that your using the muscle to the full extent.

You know how you can make your stomach fatter by pushing out your abs?

I think he is trying to say don't push out, but clench your abs, in the same way as when you clench your @$$

 

[redfive]

This is sort of off the subject, but I was wondering if anyone else has bought or tried the Abtronics. For those who dont know about it, The abtronic is a belt with a electrical coil that forces your muscles to contract with a electrical shock. I bought one a couple of months ago. it's seems to work. I mean I feel like I'v been through a workout, but I dont know if its more mental then phisical.
I bought it becouse I thought it was going to be a piece of crap, and wonted to prove to my friend that it was. The first time I put it on I put it on high and nearly wet my pants. I dont go above level 4.
I had good abs. before I started and still do the traditional exercises, I'm just wondering if I'm waisting my time with it.

Your friend in the arts, Redfive

 

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by redfive

This is sort of off the subject, but I was wondering if anyone else has bought or tried the Abtronics. For those who dont know about it, The abtronic is a belt with a electrical coil that forces your muscles to contract with a electrical shock. I bought one a couple of months ago. it's seems to work. I mean I feel like I'v been through a workout, but I dont know if its more mental then phisical.
I bought it becouse I thought it was going to be a piece of crap, and wonted to prove to my friend that it was. The first time I put it on I put it on high and nearly wet my pants. I dont go above level 4.
I had good abs. before I started and still do the traditional exercises, I'm just wondering if I'm waisting my time with it.

Your friend in the arts, Redfive

Fraud

 

[MartialArtist]

Everyone has a six pack. You don't need to do crunches to have a six pack. All you need is a low BF%. Shed the fat, your muscles underneath will show. Now, some ab exercises will make it protrude a little but the only way you can get a six pack is to do cardio and have a good diet.

 

[Nightingale]

you're probably wasting your time.

what I've read about those is that although you're getting the muscle contraction, you're not getting the resistance from sit-ups, crunches, or weights, and that's what really builds the muscle.

 

[KennethKu]

Exactly.

Those are electronic massagers. They improve circulation. But, do not offer progressive resistance which muscle needs to grow.

 

[redfive]

Thanks to all,
I'm a electrician and I'v never gotten anything good from being shocked and I dont like it. So I will discard my abtronic. Even though I know their are those who will throw electro -theory of the body and all that sort of stuff at me.

Redfive