Abs everyday?

Bigntasty · 21-Jun-05, 12:44 PM

I workout at my school so i get like a personal trainer that makes me a workout. I've been browsing the forums and it says that you should train your abs like any other muscle but my trainer has me doing upper and lower abs every day 3sets 25 reps is this correct what should I do instead? And what exersises should I do that would be more intense than inclined situps, crunchs, knee raises and leg raises?

Also I asked him and he said that the abs can just take more of a beating so you can work them everyday.

**threenorns** · 21-Jun-05, 12:56 PM

no, you CANNOT work abs every day - they need time to recover and repair like any other muscle.

as for the exercises, i wouldn't waste time with leg raises because tthey're not an ab exercise. any exercise that involves bending at the hip is not an ab exercise - abs are worked in a secondary role as stabilizers while the hip flexors actually do most of the work.

it depends on what your goals are, but i prefer weighted crunches and cable crunches.

**Todd** · 21-Jun-05, 01:04 PM

Abs are not special, they are the same as any other muscle group. There is no need to work them directly more than once (twice max) per week. They get indirect work every single time you exercise any other muscle group.

Your personal trainer needs to learn a few things.

**threenorns** · 21-Jun-05, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd

Your personal trainer needs to learn a few things.

what else is new, lol.

bign: if you've not seen todd, you might wanna take a look at him (here) - the man knows whereof he speaks.

**cursor** · 21-Jun-05, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigntasty

what exersises should I do that would be more intense than inclined situps, crunchs, knee raises and leg raises

Try some weighted crunches or some weighted hanging hip curls. Use weights to increase the load (performing fewer reps -- because you won't be able to do 25 ... or even 15).

Stephen286 · 21-Jun-05, 02:58 PM

Let us now how your trainer reacts when you tell him what you found out. That will be funny. And yes you train your abs like any other muscle. I used to do a lot of repititions of ab workouts. Now I do less reps with heavier weight and I get much better results. Try it for yourself and see how it works for you. Thats the best way to find out which way works better.

Bigntasty · 21-Jun-05, 05:14 PM

Thanks a lot I figured he was wrong. Is there another wieghted exercise i could try maybe that does the obliques?

candyass · 21-Jun-05, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigntasty

Thanks a lot I figured he was wrong. Is there another wieghted exercise i could try maybe that does the obliques?

Woodchopper works fine for me.

**Todd** · 21-Jun-05, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigntasty

Thanks a lot I figured he was wrong. Is there another wieghted exercise i could try maybe that does the obliques?

Unless you like the look of having a wider waist, I wouldn't suggest doing any direct execises for you obliques. They grow enough from indirect work, and believe me, they grow way too fast with direct work and will ruin any v-taper you do have.

**threenorns** · 21-Jun-05, 10:10 PM

i liked the effect i got from doing twisted crunches (much tighter waistline), but i don't do the weighted side bends - those chunk up my waistline in no time.

pseudonym · 21-Jun-05, 11:01 PM

hhhmm yeah I spsoe I agree the abs are a muscle like anything else (well OK of course they are

) but I can see a benefit to training them every (other maybe) day with little or no weight.

Like for entrance testing etc... For the Australian armed forces you need 100 situps if you're under 21, sliding scale downward after that) now when I was training to take my test ... well OK i didn't train, nobody did, 100 situps is the easy part

but in preparing I just did increasing sets of the prescribed situp, no weight or what-have-you and in the end I am convinced I could have done 300, the 100 was super easy.

Dunno how weighted exercises help in promoting endurance, but if you have to do a set (highish) number of situps for some reason, working them often and long is the way to go I rekon (and in my experience).

If ya just wanna build mass/core strength weights are the way to go, no question about that in my mind.

Bigntasty · 21-Jun-05, 11:54 PM

great What about the lower abs? Will they just be worked with the other exercises or is there anything I can do to isolate them without concentrating on the hip flexors?

**threenorns** · 22-Jun-05, 12:25 AM

reverse crunches and v-sits