Question about crunches

[Gunner]

My wife has been doing crunches every day, and lately we have noticed that it apears that her stomach (just below her rib cage) is sticking out a little more than before. Is this a normal body reaction to crunches? And here is a rundown on the crunches she does every day:

70 regular
70 reverse
70 right oblique
70 left oblique

Thanks,
Gunner

[midgetcop]

She's probably gained some muscle mass, therefore her stomach in going to look a little bigger.

[SarahPT]

Personally I think it would be better if she didn't do the crunches every day. The muscles need to rest just as much as they need to be worked. She may want to try more challenging ab/core exercises with fewer reps nomore than 3 times a week. Just a thought.

Sarah

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by midgetcop

She's probably gained some muscle mass, therefore her stomach in going to look a little bigger.

Thats what i keep telling myself anyway

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by SarahPT

Personally I think it would be better if she didn't do the crunches every day. The muscles need to rest just as much as they need to be worked. She may want to try more challenging ab/core exercises with fewer reps nomore than 3 times a week. Just a thought.

Sarah

Would be better alright. Abs are made out of the same proteins as other muscles why treat them different?

[midgetcop]

Originally Posted by Maxgain

Thats what i keep telling myself anyway

Ditto.

[totalchaos]

good

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by SarahPT

She may want to try more challenging ab/core exercises with fewer reps nomore than 3 times a week. Just a thought.

Got any suggestions for just such excercises?

Gunner

[totalchaos]

Do this.....20 upper-ab crunches, 20 obliques (each side), put your feet together (ankle to ankle), cross them and bring them up as you bend your knee, have your elbows touch your knees when you come up, do that 20 times, then you may be familiar with the hip row, do that 20 times, I got all this off a video it should equal somewhere close to 200 crunches. Also do the bicycle crunch alternating sides. And on the topic of overtraining the abs, because the abs are the hardest muscle in the body to adjust, they can be worked 6-7 days a week, just don't over do it on a daily basis. Also you have to burn the fat as well so as you will see a more toned stomach, you must also add in your cardio so you can see the results even more.

[totalchaos]

There's also pilates, but that is very difficult.

[Klide]

She could also try vacuums.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ms-fit5.htm

[Justice]

couldn't it be because she is working her upper abs more then the lower half???

because i work my abs 6 days a week, 7 days coming into a fight, and my abs are flat.

hmm??

[rab91787]

Umm... actually, the more you build up your abs the more they stick out. I don't think it's a matter of her only hitting the top part. Klide has the right idea. A lot of the old school bodybuilders did stomach vacuums to build up the transverse abdominals (if my memory serves me right I'm too lazy to look up :P) which lie below the rectus abdominis. Doing stomach vacuums helps strengthen the transverse abdominals which will pull the abdominals in more and give you a more "washboard stomach" look. Odds are with women they have a proportional amount of fat in the belly region that is very hard to get rid of. Just one of the reasons why women have to get a lower bf% to show their abs than men. As she builds up her abdominals it will seem to make her tummy bulge out more but that is a good thing because of the abs building up. GL to you and her.

[CF-OC_gal]

I'd be careful working the obliques too much especially with added weight. If she is one of the unlucky ones who responds well it will thicken her waistline with muscle (most women don't like that look as it tends to be less female).

Pilates is not hard to do and it is excellent. It is something that takes your full attention to do properly to get the most out of.

Tell her not to ignore the little things she can do everyday, endlessly like sucking in her tummy using the transverse abdominus (do a search for what this is about if you don't know). That should reduce or eliminate the bulge.

[etothepii]

If you abs are so weak, that they hinder you in harder lifts like squat and deadlift, then do some weighted incline situps or crunches. Otherwise, there's not much need to knock yourself out doing hundreds of reps per day.