Ab workout

[Mogg]

Hello
What does everyone do for abs?

i personally do a 5-8 min circuit swititching exercises every 30 seconds to a min.
usually flutters, scissors, russian twist, leg extending sit ups, normal sit ups, crunches, side bridge, side bridge, plank for 1 min

Looking for some new lower ab exercices or killer exercises
thanks!

[wintonyk]

Originally posted by Mogg
Hello
What does everyone do for abs?

i personally do a 5-8 min circuit swititching exercises every 30 seconds to a min.
usually flutters, scissors, russian twist, leg extending sit ups, normal sit ups, crunches, side bridge, side bridge, plank for 1 min

Looking for some new lower ab exercices or killer exercises
thanks!

on the note of your flutter, scissors, planks, etc. just stand there and flex your abs. Its essentially the same thing. Flutters are great for your hip flexors.

Hang from bar do knees to elbows. Sicilian crunches. Reverse crunches. Double crunches. Weighted cable curls (done properly)

Focus for any abs strengthening should be flexion of the spine. It is afterall what abs are meant for.

[Goodfella]

If you have someone who could assist you the "leg throw"
works really well for your lower abs. Also try throwing in some weight resistance in your circuit if you havent already.

[lint]

Originally posted by wintonyk
Focus for any abs strengthening should be flexion of the spine. It is afterall what abs are meant for.
Please comment on Dr Stuart McGill's research:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/19/the-man-who-wants-to-kill-crunches/

The man who wants to kill crunches
A Canadian professor of spine biomechanics rails about the dangers of the ubiquitous sit-up

After three decades of figuring how out the spine works, Stuart McGill has come to loathe sit-ups. It doesn’t matter whether they are the full sit-ups beloved by military trainers or the crunch versions so ubiquitous in gyms. “What happens when you perform a sit-up?” he asks. “The spine is flexed into the position at which it damages sooner.”

The professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo knows a thing or two about snapping spines. In his lab, McGill proudly shows off a machine that’s probably created more disc herniations than any other in the world. “We get real [pig] spines from the butcher and we compress them, shear them and bend them to simulate activities such as golf swings and sit-ups, and watch as unique patterns of injury emerge.” A disc has a ring around it, and the middle, the nucleus, is filled with a mucus-like liquid. Do a sit-up and the spine’s compression will squeeze the nucleus. On his computer, McGill shows how the nucleus can work its way out of the disc, hit a nerve root and cause that oh-so-familiar back pain. “From observing the way your total gym routine is performed, we can predict the type of disc damage you’re eventually going to have.”

While there are lots of ways to injure a back, the sit-up is an easily preventable one. According to his research, a crunch or traditional sit-up generates at least 3,350 newtons (the equivalent of 340 kg) of compressive force on the spine. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that anything above 3,300 newtons is unsafe.

So McGill suggests replacing sit-ups with exercises to strengthen the core while not bending the spine: bridges, planks, leg extensions, bird dogs, and “stir the pot.” The bird dog, for instance, simply involves getting on all fours and, while keeping the core muscles tight, extending the opposite arm and leg, then switching limbs. “Stir the pot” is a more complex movement: moving shoulders in a small circle while in a prone push-up position with forearms balanced on an exercise ball.

The results of McGill’s decades of spine research is slowly being accepted outside the worlds of academia and elite athletics. Ian Crosby of the Calgary Fire Department saw the shift first-hand. He’s on a committee of the International Association of Fire Fighters that establishes criteria for the make-or-break fitness test. A few years ago, they reviewed the annual sit-up test, which involved doing steady crunches in time to a metronome. The problem, for Crosby, is that anyone being assessed “will train to get better. And that involves repeated bouts of sit-ups.” So last year, after talking to Stuart McGill and other experts, the IAFF dropped the sit-up in favour of the prone plank—basically a static push-up that will leave the unfit trembling with fatigue.

For those who believe sit-ups are the only key to strong abdominals, Crosby points to research that shows the new movements can be just as effective in improving core strength. A study of U.S. soldiers published earlier this year in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise compared sit-ups with back-friendly core stabilization exercises, including bird dogs, and found there was no difference in overall fitness between the two groups. In fact, those who did core exercises showed significant improvement in the army’s sit-up test.

The decline of the crunch can also be seen at ordinary sweat-filled gyms. Anthony Ierulli, manager of fitness programming for the YMCA in Brampton, Ont., says that while in the past all anyone “did were crunches, now they’re doing some Pilates and yoga that engage the abdomen in different ways.” But Ierulli emphasizes that changing routines isn’t enough if the technique isn’t there. And that requires finding a teacher who can fine-tune those unfamiliar exercises.

As for McGill, he keeps spreading his message. Recently, Asia Nelson, a local Waterloo-based trainer of yoga instructors, invited the expert to talk to her class of student teachers about his philosophy. She knows that not all traditional yoga postures are back-friendly. One example Nelson gives is the sun salutation’s forward fold—basically a standing crunch with the added hanging weight of the body. Now, after the professor’s lecture, she’s figuring out ways to modify that and other movements. While Nelson and the Y’s Ierulli recommend people find a balance between old and new techniques, McGill’s message is more blunt: “There are only so many bends in your spine until the discs eventually herniate.”
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/five_movements_to_make_you_hate_life

Exercise #1: Half Kneeling Cable Anti-Rotation Press
I don't get why people are still doing crunches and sit-ups. Dr. Stuart McGill has shown repeatedly in his research that repetitive spinal flexion is the exact mechanism for disc herniations. Additionally, it's been well established that every crunch or sit-up you do places roughly 760 lbs of compressive load on your lumbar spine. Translation: OUCH!

Given the work of people like Shirley Sahrmann, Gray Cook, Mike Boyle, and a lot of other people who are smarter than myself, it's pretty apparent that the "core" should be trained primarily with stability/anti-rotation in mind. For proof, just look at a basic anatomy chart on the left and it's pretty evident that this is the case.

As you can clearly see, the abdominal region is more of a crosshatched web and has muscle fibers that go vertically AND horizontally. I don't remember who I originally heard this from, but if your abs were designed specifically for flexion (think crunches and sit-ups) they'd be a hamstring.

Even more importantly, with respect to rotation, it's important to note the actual physiology of the spine. The lumbar spine isn't designed for a lot of movement; roughly 13 degrees total to be exact (0-2 degrees per segment).

Conversely, the thoracic spine is where most of the motion should come from. Here, each segment elicits 7-9 degrees per segment, totaling roughly 70 degrees of "acceptable" rotation. I only bring this up because as you can see from the video below, any rotation that does occur, occurs from the t-spine and not the lumbar spine.77blHpJWZbY
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/back_to_mcgill

[J-hop]

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[Mogg]

Originally posted by wintonyk


on the note of your flutter, scissors, planks, etc. just stand there and flex your abs. Its essentially the same thing. Flutters are great for your hip flexors.

Hang from bar do knees to elbows. Sicilian crunches. Reverse crunches. Double crunches. Weighted cable curls (done properly)

Focus for any abs strengthening should be flexion of the spine. It is afterall what abs are meant for.

not sure if agree with this totally, and this seems to be reinforced by the post below you

yes i forgot to add the leg throws i find those very effective any other simmilar things for lower abs?
thanks

[soccernut]

I would look into doing some isometric work outs instead of repetition work just to change the pace a little and I don't mean plank. Yoga has many of those which I don't remember the names of.

One move I like is this: I start in banana and hold that for 10 seconds and progressively raise my legs and arms holding each pose for 10 seconds until I have my toes and fingers pointing up (http://lh6.ggpht.com/_xUMb3IupzA0/Spc1qDn2MbI/AAAAAAAACyE/-f9Fhy4I7a8/P8270071.JPG)

It should take 1 minute to do this exercise but it will feel like a long time

[Mogg]

Originally posted by soccernut
I would look into doing some isometric work outs instead of repetition work just to change the pace a little and I don't mean plank. Yoga has many of those which I don't remember the names of.

One move I like is this: I start in banana and hold that for 10 seconds and progressively raise my legs and arms holding each pose for 10 seconds until I have my toes and fingers pointing up (http://lh6.ggpht.com/_xUMb3IupzA0/Spc1qDn2MbI/AAAAAAAACyE/-f9Fhy4I7a8/P8270071.JPG)

It should take 1 minute to do this exercise but it will feel like a long time

thanks ill for sure try that