A good ab workout?

[wastedyrs]

All you guys and gals gave such good advice on my arms (ten times better than the "experts" I've talked to in the past), I'd thought and come back and ask what the best ab workout is.

I do the crunches, and some side to side stuff, but nothing that is really effective. My stomach has gotten pretty hard over the years, but haven't gotten any real muscle definition.

[Mr VW]

I don't know where you're at physically but these are great for your abs.

Using a pull up bar or any horizontal bar high enough to hang from, lock your legs and hand upside down. Perform crunches like this. They're great.

[smcqis]

the main factor with abs is body fat, u could work ur abs for ages an they could be great but if you have too much body fat ya dont get the benefit of them. interestingly wot is ur apprx. body fat percentage?

[richard82]

I would agree, the main thing that effects how defined your abs are, is the amount of fat you have. It comes down to what you eat.

Therefore, a slight change in your diet may be the answer, rather than a change in your ab exercises.

However, you could try some weighted crunches or leg lifts which help to get good results

[wastedyrs]

My body fat percentage is roughly 9 percent.
I already do a lot of crunches, so I was wondering what would really work the sides and uppers?

[F_Mac]

Full range weighted crunches will work all the ab muscles. If you have been doing bodyweight stuff, try adding some weight and see what happens.

[tim_mcf]

Try this:

http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/ar...&articleid=329

[Blaze]

As everyone has said, BF% has to do with your definition or lack there of, but if you wanna jus strengthen your abs. You gotta hit em from all angles. Upper, Lower, obliques.

Lower is of course the hardest to hit, but I found something that works really well.

Get on a glute/ham machine, but lay on it backwards, so your head is where your feet normally are. Your butt should be where your quads normally are, and extend your feet all the way out, so your lower abs and lower back(central core) is stablizing your whole body, and then pull your feet back towards your rib cage in a crunch motion, and then return and repeat.

It hurts....I like it

[climber511]

L-sit leg spreads with abdominal and anal locks target the abs enough differently that they are worth a try. The locks (or bandas - Yoga term) help work the muscles deeper and the closed position seems to work the muscles in a different way as well. The classic six pack is somewhat genetic also - the separations so to speak are more defined and creates deeper lines in some people than others even with the bodyfat percentage necessary to show them.

[fitnessdie]

That will give you good muscle definition

AFTER A WARM UP:
USING AN EXERCISE BALL
V-PIKE PRONE AB CRUNCH (3 SETS OF 10)
• LIE FACE DOWN (PRONE) ON THE BALL WITH YOUR HANDS ON THE FLOOR FOR STABILITY
• BEGIN WITH THE BALL POSITIONED AT THE UPPER THIGH WITH YOUR LEGS EXTENDED
• SLOWLY ROLL THE BALL UNDER YOUR BODY WITH HIPS MOVING UPWARD BRINGING FEET CLOSER TO ARMS
• KEEP LEGS STRAIGHT. ONCE IN A V POSITION, PAUSE AND SLOWLY ROLL BACK TO PRONE

USING AB STRAPS
HANGING LEG RAISES (3 SETS OF 15)
• HANG FROM STRAPS WITH UPPER ARM PARALLEL TO THE GROUND. LEGS ARE EXTENDED.
• BEGIN BY LIFTING KNEES UP TO CHEST, PAUSE AND SLOWLY RETURN TO EXTENSION
• DO NOT SWING. LOWER YOUR LEGS SLOWLY, WITH CONTROL
• THIS EXERCISE CAN ALSO BE DONE WITH A TWIST AS YOU RAISE YOUR LEGS TO WORK THE OBLIQUES

WORKING THE OBLIQUES
SIDE LYING LEG LIFTS ON FLOOR (3 SETS OF 15 ON EACH SIDE)
• START ON THE FLOOR, ON YOUR SIDE; PROP YOURSELF UP ON YOUR ELBOW. KEEP OPPOSITE HAND ON THE FLOOR BEHIND YOU FOR BALANCE.
• WITH LEGS EXTENDED, LIFT BOTH UPPER AND LOWER BODY AT THE SAME TIME, CREATING A SIDE LYING V. LOWER YOUR BODY SLOWLY.
• REPEAT ON THE OTHER SIDE

[BobFlex]

Ok, what if you have none of the equipment listed above? What should one do besides regular crunches?

[fitnessdie]

If you are in decent shape and have no physical limitations, give these easy ab exercises a try. Reverse Crunches 15 reps 3 sets
(For this exercise, lie on your back on a soft surface. Reach your arms back overhead and hold onto something very stable, like the leg of a table. Keep your knees bent and roll up into a ball bringing your knees down to your chest. As you lift your hips up off the floor, focus on curling up one vertebrae at a time. Remember, as you lower you hips back to the floor, to also touch one vertebrae to the ground at a time. This will allow you to keep the spine flexed and your abs engaged.)
Crunches 25 reps 3 sets
(Lie on your back on a soft surface. Keep both knees bent with your feet flat on the floor. Flatten your back into the ground eliminating any space between your lumbar spine and the floor. Place your hands behind your head but do not clasp your fingers together as this will increase the likelihood of pulling your head forward, which increase the chance of injury to your neck. Lift your head and shoulders about 3-4 inches off the floor, exhaling as you do so. Slowly return back to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of reps.)

[jamesahren]

Weighted crunches are good, but you have to be disciplined to maintain form.

My favourites are:

- reverse crunches
- captains chair knee raises
- bridged leg extensions (good lower ab stuff)
- exercise ball crunches

abs are muscles like any other, so overload and progression works, BUT, you should make an effort to build good core stability, as it will help the rest of your workouts and sports, and that takes a lot more than just doing crunches.
I'm running a series of posts on ab workouts with some explanations, if you fancy a look

[.V.]

Originally Posted by BobFlex

Ok, what if you have none of the equipment listed above? What should one do besides regular crunches?

Crunches with weights on the chest or if you really want to rough them up...dragon flags.