lower abs

[pitto999]

ive started doing exercises for my abs and pecs and when i do lying leg lifts (where you lie with your legs straight on your back and lift ur legs up and lower them down) and reverse crunches, it works my quads more than my lower abs. its starting to get relli frustrating, so i just thought maybe im doing something wrong. has anybody else experienced this?

[Stonecold54]

Re: lower abs

Originally posted by pitto999
ive started doing exercises for my abs and pecs and when i do lying leg lifts (where you lie with your legs straight on your back and lift ur legs up and lower them down) and reverse crunches, it works my quads more than my lower abs. its starting to get relli frustrating, so i just thought maybe im doing something wrong. has anybody else experienced this?

because that is exactly what the movement works, your legs not your abs. I will answer more fully when I get to work.

[ZHowitzer!]

sc...does the term lower abs tend to stimulate a small giggle in you as well???


Anyway... I am going to defer to reply for real until SC post's his thoughts...then I will edit this post to reflect exactly what he said...making me seem all the more wise :-D

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by ZHowitzer!
sc...does the term lower abs tend to stimulate a small giggle in you as well???


Anyway... I am going to defer to reply for real until SC post's his thoughts...then I will edit this post to reflect exactly what he said...making me seem all the more wise :-D

go ahead I don't have time but basically abs are better worked using the whole ab wall at once, doing twisting crunches or v-ups, or the hanging side to side leg raises I do-which I don't feel in my legs at all.

[beefcake]

Why not just draw them in with a marker? :D I just do the hanging knee raises and hip thrusts. I think the marker would be easier though. :D

[ZHowitzer!]

Ok ... for starters...the RA is ONE muscle...but before I go to much further...

Did you really say that your starting to exercise your abs and your pecs... THAT'S IT?!?!?!


I can help you with your ab development but please tell me that your not just doing push-ups and abs!!!!


Ok, FIRST we need to make sure that you have moved your abs into the optimal posistion. You want them to contract to shorten and you need to get them in line with your hips and your ribcage(roughly)

the easiest way to achieve this is to pull in your belly button like you were trying to get it to touch your spine one the inside (now dont suck in like your trying to put on tight jeans). Your going to have to breath by expanding your ribs (via ext. intercostals) and not with your diaphram. now your abs are ready to get torn up!!!

[pitto999]

yeh im jus workin my abs and pecs at the moment, untill i save up enough money for a gym membership, then ill get the full body workouts goin. so wot ive heard about lying leg raises working your abs is jus bulshit? ill try the twisting crunches and v ups next time i workout. and ill pull in my belly like zhowitzer sed. anyway thanks guys.

[pitto999]

can someone explain how to do v-ups and twisting crunches, sorry for soundin like a dumass, ive just got nobody to ask about them

[Gort]

For crunches stick your toe under a couch with knees bent and hands behind your neck. Roll up without flexing the hips. To twist, alternately aim each elbow at the opposite knee or even farther. The small of your back should not come up off of the floor.

V-ups are like old flat situps with arms extended past the head except the legs and arms meet in the air over the body. This requires practice. It ends up being a divers pike position.

I like doing crunches on an inclined board with a weight held over the chest with the hands. You can make one yourself if you are handy.

[pitto999]

thanks man, ill give it ago next time, sounds like im gonna make some progress. should i do v-ups and twisting crunches aswell as normal crunches, or not bother?

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by pitto999
thanks man, ill give it ago next time, sounds like im gonna make some progress. should i do v-ups and twisting crunches aswell as normal crunches, or not bother?

skip the normal crunches if they worked so well they wouldn't be sold on TV. LOL

[ZHowitzer!]

hey bro...

It's nice to see that your open minded enough to work out with out thinking that you need a gym to do it in. push-ups and abs are the easy things to think about...now lets help you work on the other stuff....I hope that the other guys will follow suit and add to the list...but there is a FULL BODY WORKOUT just waiting for you for free.


First of all ... no matter what ... you can not neglect your legs...they are your foundation. Walking Lunges, body wt. squats, step up lunges (on a chair), calf raises (on any curb, ledge, stair) body wt good morinings (aka stiff legg dead lift)


Back...back is actually easier than you would think...although it does require a bit of equipment...A medium sized towel :-D for starters the best thing is a pull up...monkey bars or anything are good for this but are an advanced movement if your lacking a bit of strength. in comes the towel...you can tie a knot or put a golf ball in the middle and shut it in a door (golf ball on out side) at a hight inbetween your belly button and your nipples. now put your toes at the spot that the door and the jam meet....grab the end of the towell and lean back...then extend your arms with your hands close to each other. (you should be leaning back at about a 30-45 degree angle) now push your elbows back (while using your hands like hooks with the towell and keeping your chest out) until they cant go back any further...now you should almost be standing up...but not quite....and do as many reps as possible...if this is too easy...do it one arm at a time.


now for your shoulders...look for bricks...(unless you can do a good handstand against the wall and bend your arms w/o knocking the shit out of your self) bricks, buckets all kinds of shit work....but before I go on toooo much....let me know if your intrested...or if you want to just stick with the chest and abs...(and please tell me now if your asking so you can lose a beer gut...and if you are...ask your self why gum chewers dont all have skinny faces)


good luck bro....and soon...very soon I will help you find the money in your budget that you can use tward a gym and NOT tward being out of shape....

[MDAM21]

hey zhowitzer, i do have a gym membership, and i do all the free weight back exercises, but i was curious, besides pullups, is there anyway to work your back out without any equipment except your body and the ground? i mean for legs you got squats, lunges, jumps, etc. for chest you got all sorts of different types of pushups, and you get a kick ass tri workout too. but what about back and bi's? i mean aside from pullups, you cant really work these parts without weights( or at least a towel : ) ) am i wrong? if so please enlighten me

[hlcn8]

focus on spinal flexion, as though you're bending your actual spine and not the hips. it sounds like you're using your hip-flexors more than anything else. it took me a while to stop over-relying on my hip flexors as well, but eventually you will make a mind-muscle connection in which you feel the muscle better, and can isolate it throughout your exercise to gain maximum benefit. sometimes a little tactile stimuli can help as well, if you can feel your abs from your hand being placed over them etc., you may perhaps be able to concentrate on their exclusive use significantly more. hope that didn't sound like gibberish!

[ZHowitzer!]

Originally posted by MDAM21
hey zhowitzer, i do have a gym membership, and i do all the free weight back exercises, but i was curious, besides pullups, is there anyway to work your back out without any equipment except your body and the ground? i mean for legs you got squats, lunges, jumps, etc. for chest you got all sorts of different types of pushups, and you get a kick ass tri workout too. but what about back and bi's? i mean aside from pullups, you cant really work these parts without weights( or at least a towel : ) ) am i wrong? if so please enlighten me

mmmmmhmmmm...

You can do "reverse rows" you just need a bar at about mid-thigh to waist ht. ok...no you crawl under the bar laying flat on your back...now reach up and grab the bar with an under OR over hand grip (depending on what you are trying to hit.) Now...keeping you body rigid and using your heels as the piviot point...push your elbows down (aka raise your body) and squeeze as you touch the bar with your chest (posistion is a bit tricky at first but as a general rule...if your using an over grip -pull to upper chest...under-just under nipples)...and if you want to do bi's like that you can...just scoot down and pull to your nugget keeping your upper arm pretty stable...


for the rep range I used to have my partner put a wheel on my chest (not a plate), but you can play with that.


as with anything there is always a variation once you get more advanced...like with a pullup...to keep them spicy! You can pull to your right hand and left alternating....use an alternate (prone and supine) then switch...there are a ton of variations using body trough space type exercises.

Ok...Hope that helped...its late and i am alittle spaced out from driving 6hrs back to the big D.