Dan

How many of you use them?

I see that places like Argos sell them for only £25, and they look pretty good

Just really wanna work my stomach alot harder than I have done lately...........plus summer aint far away!

Cheers

Paul Eggleton

Don't waste your money. And if you want to see your abs then shed the fat

Conventional crunches are fine. you can also add twists while you are doing them to train your obliques and other side of your stomach muscles.

Dan

I do ad Twists in now Paul! lol

I was meaning that they might be better in helping to lose the fat? TBH there aint much there now at all (honestly! lol) but I just want my stomach muscles really defined

Paul Eggleton

IMO they offer no extra benefit and certainly won't help burn anymore fat in that area(I'm not a believer in localisation). Diet is the key to obtaining the chiseled and defined look. Add a bit more cardio to your routine if you want to loose a bit more fat along with checking your diet is suitable too.

Lemon S2

Have a look at the link below which shows different exercises for the abs & obliques but as Paul said diet is important as well

http://www.shapefit.com/abs-exercises-sit-ups.html

EssexBoyRacer

cool link! added to favourites

Dan

Cheers peeps, nice one Paul!

AndyNo1

I find that what Paul E is true. If you're doing ab crunch its going to effect the muscle behind the fat. Thats why I'm doing the cardio to become slimmer

DaveMCMkIII

I second that, 'spot reducing' (thinking doing exercise on a specific location will reduce fat there) is a myth, the body burns fat whereever it wants!secondly ab cranchers are a waste of money. They just make the sit up easier and ok they help technique wise but anyone can learn easily how to do a perfect crunch. For beginnners, ok use them a few times to learn technique but after that do it on your own, results will be better as you are controlling the movement more!

PPSSSHH

my missus got me one for my b day its not too bad for the lower abs like when using ur knees to work it but that is probably the likelyest part too have fat on it right so leg ups are best as for using it for normal abs no good at all it just canes my back muscles dont tell her lol

Dan

What do you mean 'localisation' Paul, just train that area? Cos I do train all the other area's too!

Paul Eggleton

Some people used to believe that by exercising a certain area, especially your abs, would burn more fat in that area. THis is a myth. WHen you loose fat you loose it all over (or which ever area your body is predisposed to loose it from).

People used to say that doing 1000's of situps a day would give you a six pack. It would only do this if the 1000 situps raised your heart rate for long enough and burnt calories just like any other exercise.

You don't really need to train your abs any differently than any other bodypart, although you never want to have 'big' abs or a thick waist as this goes against the illusion of broad shoulders and narrow waist. If you train them hard, you can train them once a week like everything else. I train mine with back, as strong abs are vital to having a stronger torso and lower back.

Dan

Cool advice there mate, as i've always had a weak lower back due to some cock jumping on me at school!

Was thinking earlier, what are good back building exercises?

DaveMCMkIII

I like deadlifts, there very effective in my opinion, however poor technique will cost you in terms of pain and injury. Key points to remember are to keep the back straight throughout the movement and a slight bend in the knees

Paul Eggleton

You can also do hyper extensions if your gym has a machine. I like these but my gym hasn't got one (I keep telling myself to make one bnut never do )

However deadlifts are the daddy of back (and a lot of other muscles) exercises, and should be a staple exercise in any programme

Dan

Nice one, thanks for your help Paul!