Abs

[say what]

I understand it is safe to work out your abs everyday of the week because it is such a dense muscle. Do you know if the same is true for your back?

[gggunit]

dont work out your back everyday!! it needs time to recover just like legs, chest, arms, shoulders.. if you want abs just do cardio and eat well.. lower calroie intake and you will be able to see your abs.. you can do sit ups everday and not see defintiton in your abs.

[TrevorK]

You should be working out all your muscles the same way - at most 2 days/week.

Now, if you're just conditioning/stretching/etc... then it's different. But for weight workouts, no more than twice / week.

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by say what
I understand it is safe to work out your abs everyday of the week because it is such a dense muscle. Do you know if the same is true for your back?

I like to work my abs and back on the same day. First I work my abs, then I work my lower back and as I am doing that I can feel my abs being stretched at the same time. So first I work the muscle then I stretch it.

Seems to work:dunno:

[civic_rida]

I think its funny when people say i do 500 situps a day .

[air_mikey]

is it bad to work on your abs every day?

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by civic_rida
I think its funny when people say i do 500 situps a day .

:confused: Say you do, or say they do? As discussed in this and other threads, defined abs come from more than just sit-ups. It needs to be a combination of low body fat percentages and proper muscle training.


Originally posted by air_mikey
is it bad to work on your abs every day?

I'd say it would be alright. However I would encourage you to work on different parts on different days. I try to divide it into lower, upper, and side (oblique) work.

If you really want to work them everyday, maybe you should try running your workouts on a three days schedule focusing on a different section each day.

[Melinda]

There are a few different muscle groups within your abs, you can alternate them and target those specific muscles each day and you'll see better results...sure all of them will be getting a bit of a work out, but if you just target your obliques for one day (for example) and then move on to upper abs the next, lower abs the day after that, ect then you should be happier with the results :)

[EG STyLeZ]

Originally posted by say what
I understand it is safe to work out your abs everyday of the week because it is such a dense muscle. Do you know if the same is true for your back?

i would say that for the average person, it is NOT safe to work your back out every single day of the week. that would be pretty dumb and lead to overtraining or injury pretty fast.

[finboy]

Originally posted by civic_rida
I think its funny when people say i do 500 situps a day .

why's that?

it is quite possible to do 500 sit ups w/i a day

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by air_mikey
is it bad to work on your abs every day?

Your abs are just like any other muscle in your body. They still need time to relax and recover. So working it everyday probably isn't the best idea.

But I think Mel probably has the best idea.


Originally posted by Melinda
There are a few different muscle groups within your abs, you can alternate them and target those specific muscles each day and you'll see better results...sure all of them will be getting a bit of a work out, but if you just target your obliques for one day (for example) and then move on to upper abs the next, lower abs the day after that, ect then you should be happier with the results :)



Originally posted by finboy


why's that?

it is quite possible to do 500 sit ups w/i a day

It's quite possible yes. But the common misconception is that the more sit ups you do, the more defined they are. When you have to fit in cardio and stuff to burn off the fat. I think that's the part he's laughing at.

[civic_rida]

U dont need to do that many sit ups . Also something that adds resistant is very helpful. I was watching much music and i heard them say that usher does 500 situps a day. Granted hes ripped but its probably cause of his low body fat not the fact he does that many situps.

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by civic_rida
hes ripped but its probably cause of his low body fat not the fact he does that many situps.

:werd: That's the truth right there. The fact is the world would rather here the quick fix than the proper fix. The proper fix is lowering your body fat, the quick fix is doing 500 sit-ups a day. That's why we here about "a certain number" all the time.

[iceburns288]

I do a 50/50 before I go to school in the morning, 50 situps and 50 pushups.

Anyone know a good way to work the rest of your abs? Combined with situps... say doing the bicycle thing, or crossover situps. I dunno too much about them, I know some good stuff though. We call it plankwork. Hard as hell. :D

My old trainer at school was insane about this stuff, but he was 100x better than our new guy. He really got your core in shape. His plank work was based on staying flat as a plank.
Keep your body flat in a raised pushup position, then go down on your elbows and back up for 30 secs or so and hold on your elbows. Then turn to the side and hold on each elbow, and then the hardest which is on your back but still airborne on your elbows. He had a bunch of neat tricks to work the core, I can't remember them all though.:dunno:

[civic_rida]

50 situps crzy u must have crzy 6 pack or nothing?

Do pushups actually do anything ?

Also i dont think i ever have done a daily situps maybe once in a blue moon and i got a 6 pack .

[Nate25]

I used to do like a shitload of abs at night before i went to bed and mine got noticibly better in like 2 weeks. I did them like different ways but ya doin lots worked for me :thumbsup:

[Melinda]

Originally posted by iceburns288
Anyone know a good way to work the rest of your abs? Combined with situps... say doing the bicycle thing, or crossover situps. I dunno too much about them, I know some good stuff though. We call it plankwork. Hard as hell. :D
My old ab program in high school was murderous. You couldn't move after you were done it and it could only be done a max of 3 times a week cause you felt it for a while after each time...took about an hour to do it each day (with appropriate breaks) and there were well over 10 different excersizes incorporated in the whole program...did the whole torso though...all ab muscle groups and the back muscles as well....worked awesome, though I don't know if I could accurately tell you what each exersize was just by description, demonstration was the only way I could show it to people. Haha I miss the disipline I had back then! lol

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by civic_rida
Do pushups actually do anything ?

Also i dont think i ever have done a daily situps maybe once in a blue moon and i got a 6 pack .

I think push-ups are one of the greatest indicators of personal strength. Sure we can do different exercises well with weights, but when you are supporting your OWN weight with your OWN arms I think it shows your strength better.

From what you've said, I refer you to the thousand times it's been said that abs are more a reflection of body fat than the exercises you do.

[iceburns288]

I'm not interested (too much :D) in just having a 6 pack, I want a stronger core as well to help stabilize me whilst running and dodging and allow me to switch directions fast. And when combined with lots of technique and leg muscles lets me do backflips (someday...:()