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[Sirpopopop]

Usually whenever I need help on something, the GAF OT Forum is one place where I'm bound to find an answer. So my question is this:

Can any of you recommend to me some good exercises to help me work out my abs?

Thanks in advance.

 

[yoshifumi]

a good exercise for upper abs is to hang from a bar and raise your feet to the bar, without bending your knees

i think doing "L" raises on a pair of parallel bars or something works your lower abs

i don't know much about working abs though, i really neglect mine

 

[MonkeyBoy]

RUNNING!!!!!

CRUNCHES!!!

 

[Luscious LeftFoot]

Abs are easy to workout: Basic Crunch (Upper abs), Reverse Crunch (Lower abs), Side Crunch (for obliques) are all you really need.

Reducing body fat to see your abs on the other hand...

 

[Greekboy]

1. Lots of cardio
2. Strict dieting
3. Ab exercises offering resistance

^^^Guaranteed abs.

 

[jenov4]

Reducing body fat to see your abs on the other hand...

Exactly, you're most likely trying to lose the weight around your belly area. And it's impossible to spot reduce the fat. Lots of cardio, diet and you'll eventually get there. Takes a lot of discipline when you stomach is screaming 'feed me!'

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

You treat abs like you would any other muscle, because they are just another muscle. Definition=lose body fat. Beefing them up = Progressive Resistance.

 

[Mr Gump]

How can a guy eat and eat some more to fuel muscle growth yet not eat so much as to lose weight?

Put on weight + Lose weight = :\

 

[effzee]

How can a guy eat and eat some more to fuel muscle growth yet not eat so much as to lose weight?

Put on weight + Lose weight = :\

By eating the right things. I'm to lazy to go through all the food groups and meals, but try to eat more protein and less carbs. The protein will be used to gain muscle, and won't turn into fat.

 

[Fatghost]

A great ab building exercise is the full barbell squat. Another exercise that really hits the abs hard is the heavy regular deadlift. The third best ab exercise would probably be the clean and press.

 

[Alucard]

I'm on my treadmill for 20-25 minutes a day now, about half of which is actual running. I get a good sweat going and as soon as I hop off I go to the floor and do a few sets of crunches until I hit 100 total.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

1. Lots of cardio
2. Strict dieting
3. Ab exercises offering resistance

^^^Guaranteed abs.

ABsolutely, and the 2 best excersises I've found to work for me, (which are both pretty hard for a beginner, are hanging legs raises, and using the ab wheel.

Hanging leg raises are basicly crunches, but a hell of a lot harder since it uses your bodys own weight as resistance. (my fav) when doing these lift your legs up as if you were doing a crunch, but hold it at the top and sqeeze the abs while blowing out ALL of the air in your lungs.

The ab wheel rules too, but it can work your lower back a lot more than you may be expecting at first.
You do these by getting an ab wheel and grabbing the handles on each side while you're on your knees, and rolling it out in front of you as far as possible without touching the ground. I try to go for about an inch above the ground on these, and make sure to blow out all the air in your lungs in these as well as it helps fully contract your ab muscles.

If the ab wheel is too much for your lower back, (and it may be considering how most people have extremely weak lower back muscles), just find something to hold your feet down and that'll take the stress off your back, and allow you to focus more on your abs.

 

[MrPing1000]

can anyone recommend motivation, im too lazy for this exercise malarky

 

[DJ Sl4m]

can anyone recommend motivation, im too lazy for this exercise malarky

Get a portable music device and fill it with music that gets you going or pumped.

Start an excersise ruitine, and try to keep with it, it may seem tedious for the first few months, but after it becomes part of your daily schedule, you'll learn to start loving it and feel guilty when you miss a day.

1. get started
2. stick with it

 

[MrPing1000]

Get a portable music device and fill it with music that gets you going or pumped.

Start an excersise ruitine, and try to keep with it, it may seem tedious for the first few months, but after it becomes part of your daily schedule, you'll learn to start loving it and feel guilty when you miss a day.

1. get started
2. stick with it

*eats mars bar* I'll think about it

 

[sefskillz]

im doin the exercise thing fine (mostly cardio, i jog ~20 minutes 2-3 times a week and do 30 minute sessions on a heavy bag 2-3 times a week) but I'm not seeing much in the way of results. I haven't changed my diet much so I'm pretty sure thats whats holding me back. I need dieting tips to the point of "buy this, this and this".

 

[Subitai]

Before I say anything, I have to say everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you.

I can give my advice, but what worked for me is reading lots of mags and asking lots of people what they do and then try it out. Some guys just don't need work at all and some need to work themselves a lot, but most of us are in between somewhere.



So, most people have good abs already, they're just covered with fat. The easiest way to lose it is to cardio and circuit weight training. The cardio burns fat on your body and the weights burn the fat and carbs you eat daily. The thing is this isn't that reliable if this is all you do.

Crunches, sit-ups, machines are only necessary if you have like no muscle around your waste or if you're trying to get truely rock hard abs.

 

[Ristamar]

1. Lots of cardio
2. Strict dieting
3. Ab exercises offering resistance

^^^Guaranteed abs.

If you're lucky and lazy (like myself) you may be able to substitute "A naturally high metabolism" for item #1, and even part of #2.

 

[Subitai]

im doin the exercise thing fine (mostly cardio, i jog ~20 minutes 2-3 times a week and do 30 minute sessions on a heavy bag 2-3 times a week) but I'm not seeing much in the way of results. I haven't changed my diet much so I'm pretty sure thats whats holding me back. I need dieting tips to the point of "buy this, this and this".

So here are just some general rules of thumb.

Fat, carbohydrate, and protein Calories only become fat tissue if you don't use them. So you don't have to eat less or change what you eat if you're willing to do more work.

Some ancedotes. There was a recent study of Amish farmers who ate these huge breakfasts with lots of fat, but they worked in the fields walking miles and miles, so they didn't get fat and they were in relatively good shape. Or, you look at the Mr. Olympia guys. They eat 8-10k in calories a day because muscles require lots of calories to stay big and get bigger.

So, it sounds like you don't want to work out more, so you're gonna have to cut down on calories. The reason people are down on fat and carbs is because they have more calories than protein and turn into more fat when you don't use them and it sounds like that's what you're consuming too much of. So you can either eat less of what you do now, or change to something else that has less calories.

It is also a good idea to try and maintain a 3-2-1 ratio of Carbs, Protein, and Fat. It doesn't have to be exact, but it should be close enough that you don't find yourself at other ratios like 2-2-2, 2-1-1, or something bad like 1-2-4. So if you're gonna change what you eat, look at the ratios the food has in calories and balance it out. Start by adding up what you eat now and then getting the ratios. If you're eating too much fat, take out the high fat foods (junk food) and replace it with more carbs (pasta, whole grain bread, vegetables, fruit) or protein(tuna, turkey, eggs, milk).

As far as how many calories to eat? It's different for everyone and depends on how much energy you need each day. You can go here to get your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

For me it is 1704.2. But i'm trying to gain muscle, so I add ~500 a day for that and then more for the workouts I do. 1556 for 2 hrs of martial arts or 714 for weights. You can add what you need from what you do here:

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/activity/activity.html

So, for today I need 3760.2. Tomorrow I'll only need 2918.2.

 

[OmniGamer]

Carbs and Protein are both 4 calories per gram...Fat is 9 calories per gram. The problem with carbs is that between simple and complex carbs, they are in everything almost. It's easier to go overboard with cabs. People are more likely to shove a candybar down their face than a can of tuna.

 

[effzee]

For those looking for proper diets, or more indepth look at exactly what type of food products they should eat and how many times a day, etc....go here http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,,s1-1-0-0-1469,00.html

Its more of a contest, and once you sign up, you get a very good diet plan and good excerises with it. You don't have to actually compete in the contest, I just signed up so I can read the diet. Anyways, good luck.