crunches

[Samboa]

Is it bad to do crunches every day?

I've always been told to give each muscle 48 hours of rest between workouts, but I've also heard that abs were an exception to that rule.

I want my damn six pack, and I want it now.

[Minrott]

Abs and heart(cardio) are the exception. Also I find calves don't seem to be bothered by daily work.

The only thing I'd worry about with constant ab crunches or situps is if you start having back/neck problems from incorrect form or what not.

[liquidstayce]

What you eat and your bodyfat has way more to do with seeing a 6 pack then how often you work your abs.

I do add in abs and back now after almost every session but only because my core seems so weak since I stopped working out consistently. I am doing assorted crunches. When I get further along again I'll do more compound type exercises and also activate my abs in other ways when I am lifting... ie - dumbell chest press on a stability ball while doing a bridge. If I do heavy weighted abs on a machine then I usually don't do daily crunches. I guess I kind of just go on how I feel and how the muscle recovery goes. Obviously if they are really sore for a couple days I will rest them. When I am doing heavy weighted abs using a machine I do not do that more then any other body part I am working. Usually once or maybe twice a week max.

[Samboa]

My bodyfat has somehow remained fairly low (it's like 11-12pct) even though I've been eating tons of junk, so I've just been trying to build the muscle to show it off. The downside of that metabolism is that I have a lot of trouble gaining muscle mass, so there the progress is slow.

When you say what I eat, I assume you mean just eating to cut that body fat: Do I assume correctly?

Also, I'm really looking to tone up my entire body. There is some muscle there already, it just doesn't seem to want to tone up. Any suggestions? High reps, low reps, certain foods?. . .

Thanks for the help

[liquidstayce]

How do you know it is 11-12? Did you get it done with calipers? Just curious.
You may need to between 6-9 to start seeing the abs. Ask the other guys about it that do have abs showing where they are at. Maybe Goose will know or check over at the http://www.abcbodybuilding.com boards.

Eating junk versus eating healthy food makes a difference. Sugar and Sat. fat will not help to get you the 6 pack. Chances are you still have some fat deposits on top of the muscle that you can get rid of by changing up your diet AND you will get better muscle growth if you feed that muscle the right foods as well. Lean protein is your friend.... cottage cheese, egg whites, whey protein, lean meats. Healthy fats next - natural peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil, Udo's blended oil, salmon, tuna, flax. Complex Carbs - Rich green Veggies, Sweet Potato and other good carbs like berries that have a natural thermogenic effect like blueberries, strawberries. Stay away from the simple carbs unless it is immediately post workout.

Most bodybuilders hate the word "tone".. you want muscle definition and muscle growth. To get that you need to eat healthy, challenge your muscles with lifting heavy - giving them resistance - tear, rebuild, rest, repeat. The cardio also helps with reducing fat but don't overdo it to the point you are burning muscle. There really isn't a whole lot of magic to it. Sometimes it is just genetic too.

Post your workout routine, how often you do it, how much time you have to workout, and the resources you have available (gym, home free weights, etc) and what you enjoy doing. If you want, I can make some suggestions for you to try or point you in the direction of some web sites that might help. How long have you been working out regularly and consistently?

[Goose_Man]

1st and foremost showing off your abs is all about diet. I have a super fast metabolism also. You just have to eat more (I eat about 4300 calories a day)

2nd you have to have abs in order to show them off.

I wouldn’t do abs every day and I wouldn’t just do crunches that wont work. You need to vary the exercise you do for your abs and you need to hit them from all angles.

I would be curious to know what your body weight, your lean muscle mass, and your BF% is. (buy some calipers and test your self with the 7 or 9 pt test: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine ... gguide.htm)

Unfortunately there is no magic body fat number to show your abs. It all depends on genetic and where you carry your fat.

Focus on working your abs 3 - 4 times a week and incorporate resistance training for them (very important!). I would also really pay attention to what you are eating. Eat 5-6 times a day in 3 hour intervals. I would also do cardio at 65 - 70% of your max for 30-45 min 3 - 4 times a week to help burn off that layer that is hiding your "6 pack".

You also want to make sure you are working your back plenty. If you try to get your abs nice and strong but you have a week back your abs will pull your body down and forward and you will look silly.

Remember in building a better body you can’t just spot train, you have to build the whole body (this includes legs!!!!!) to get the best results.

[liquidstayce]

Calipers or you could spend a few bucks and go find a Bodypod test. Even when I do crunches I still vary different types to hit everything and equally work back.

Ya.. not worth having great abs and a pair of chicken legs to go with them.. lol
Goose brings up some good points and good advice.

[Samboa]

Yeah I have some horribly scrawny legs. I need to fix that. . .

I've been doing crunches on a machine, 4 sets of 25 at 45 lbs. I do that 3-4 times a week. My current workout only focuses on upper body, and to be honest I'm really not doing a whole lot. I'm able to go to the gym a lot more now that school has settled down, so I'm going to start a new plan next week.

My workouts have been going something like:
Run a mile
bench (4sets of 10)
curls(4 sets of 10)
tricep pulldowns (4 sets of 10)
crunches (4 sets of 25)
bike a mile

The plan I'm about to start is:
Monday-dumbell presses, incline dumbell presses, standing military presses, dips, tricept pushdowns
Tuesday-squats, leg presses, leg extensions, seated leg curls, stiff-legged deadlifts
Wednesday-cardio
Thursday-standing calf presses, seated calf presses, dumbell lateral raises, barbell upright rows, bent-over dumbell lateral raises, straight abdominal crunches, twisted abdominal crunches
Friday-deadlifts, chins, dumbell rows, dumbell shrugs, barbell bicep curls, seated dumbell hammer curls
Saturday-cardio

I also planned on running to warm up and biking to cool down on the days that weren't just cardio.

I used to be overweight, and when I hit puberty I dropped like 60 pounds in about 8 months. So this is kind of an awkward question. . .but I have like a little 'pooch' on my stomach. It's not fat, it's more like skin. Will working my abs tighten this up, or am I SOL?

I'll try to get my BF% checked again, and how do you check lean muscle mass? My body weight is 159lbs.

[Tadpole]

Why don't you run more than twice a week?

[Samboa]

I'm trying not to lose any mass. I ran 2 miles a day for a few months last year and dropped down to 140lbs. I was even scrawnier than I am now.

[Tadpole]

Then shorten the distance down you run...run for a mile each day. Oh and don't drink any soda at all, if you just drink water you will get results much faster.

[Goose_Man]

If you run like i said (65 - 70% of max) and you are eating enough you will not lose mass by running 3 times a week, in fact you might gain some.

[Goose_Man]

Oh and also I think that they split you posted is too much for your legs.

You really should not squat and leg press on the same day unless you are in phenomenal shape. All you'll end up doing is getting your self really sore for about a week and you will never want to do legs again.

A good leg day at your level would be: 4 sets of 10 barbell squats. 3 sets of 8-10 stiff legged dead lifts, 2 sets of 12 leg extensions and if you feel froggy add in another 2 sets of standing leg curls. Follow it all up with 2 sets of machine lower back extensions then go home.

Uugh now that i look at it you are trying to do too much on the same days. To me it sounds like you are relatively a beginner in the gym so don’t over do it. (for example, dead lifts and pull ups in the same work out..ouch)

[Samboa]

Would you mind recommending a workout? I was talking to this ex-professional bodybuilder who was starting to train people in my area, but she mysteriously quit coming to the gym. . .she was gonna charge an assload just to write me up a work out, then another assload for a diet plan, and then another arm and a leg to come watch once a week. I honestly don't have the cash. So between cash and her not showing up, things aren't working on that end.

[liquidstayce]

I'll try to get Mop to look at this as well. Maybe he can write up a beginner routine for you. He has been a certified personal trainer for a few years, in gym management, etc.

If you need some structure a pretty straight forward workout can be done by following the Body For Life workouts. The site they have is good too. Has animations and videos so you can see the correct form http:/www.bodyforlife.com
The nutrition is pretty sound as well. I have not done the program but I've read Bill Phillips book and am a firm believer on his goal setting. The book was very motivational for me and I suggest his plan to a lot of people just starting to get in the gym or get back to the gym. They all seem to do well with it.

[liquidstayce]

I used to be overweight, and when I hit puberty I dropped like 60 pounds in about 8 months. So this is kind of an awkward question. . .but I have like a little 'pooch' on my stomach. It's not fat, it's more like skin. Will working my abs tighten this up, or am I SOL?

Depends on genetics, age, how long you were overweight, elasticity of your skin, and if it is really skin versus fat. If the skin does lose it's elasticity then the only thing you can do is plastic surgery to get rid of it. You might be able to fill some of the space up with muscle. How old are you?

[leah]

hehe i think i might be SOL in that department... lots of extra skin and i think i missed the boat on that whole elasticity-of-youth thing... or else i used it all up or something hehe

when i'm independently wealthy, it is totally plastic surgery time

[Samboa]

I'm 18, I lost the weight when I was like 14. It was getting progressively better (although that was a slow process. . .), but it seems to have hit a standstill.

I'm pretty sure it is skin, the running I did last year was to try and lose it because I thought of it as fat, and it only got worse the more my weight dropped.

[liquidstayce]

Might just need to live with the imperfection then but it can't hurt you to fill some of that space with muscle. If it really bothers you in a few years from now you could always look into the plastic surgery option. Consider it a proud "battle scar" from losing the weight =)

[Tae-Bo]

yep cant lose loose skin other than through surgery

i was supposed to get mine on dec. 15th but i postponed it to march cus i didnt want to be a zombie all christmas break while my friends were back in town from skools

[Samboa]

ha yeah. I've thought about the surgery, and I just don't know if I would do it. It would be great to have a six pack and be ripped and everything, but as long as my stomach looks good I'm happy.

[liquidstayce]

18 is too young for plastics in my opinion. Just wait a few more years to see what happens and if you really need it. Plus - Insurance isn't going to pay for your tummy tuck and I am sure you have better things to spend 7k - 10k on.

[Samboa]

Yeah, I agree. I never really considered doing it any time soon. I used to think I would have it done when I was mid-20's but now that it has fixed itself for the most part I'm just going to ignore it. I hope I can just start putting on some muscle mass and fill up whatever is still there, and have that six-pack in addition to losing a bit of the scrawniness.