I never do isolation exercises for my Abs because the basic lifts (e.g. deadlift/squat/pullup) do them plenty. Why do people do them so much? I’ve seen so many people do the crunches (all forms) etc and hardly any of them even have low enough BF % to be able to see them!
I know some people go on about how the ABs need to be strong to stablize the body etc but the basic lifts train them anyway…besides, the same “coaches” recommending training the Abs separately are the same ones recommending you do flys with 5lb dumbells on a swiss exercise ball LOL (honestly, I saw this chubby guy doing that as advised and spotted by the gym owner!)
From my experience Doing the big lifts does train your abs to a certain extent. You will develop a strong core, and be able to use heavier weights and so on.
However I can honestly say that the times where I have done no ab work my abs have disappeared. I guess some people are genetically able to have big abs all the time and any exercise stimulates them, but others need isolation.
I dont go crazy with ab training but I like to do about 5 or 6 sets most workouts.
I usually do candle sticks, rope crunches and weighted crunches. Seems to be enough to bring them out good.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
I never do isolation exercises for my Abs because the basic lifts (e.g. deadlift/squat/pullup) do them plenty. Why do people do them so much? I’ve seen so many people do the crunches (all forms) etc and hardly any of them even have low enough BF % to be able to see them!
I know some people go on about how the ABs need to be strong to stablize the body etc but the basic lifts train them anyway…besides, the same “coaches” recommending training the Abs separately are the same ones recommending you do flys with 5lb dumbells on a swiss exercise ball LOL (honestly, I saw this chubby guy doing that as advised and spotted by the gym owner!)[/quote]
Isometric work does not develop strength through the entire range of motion so some people need to train their abs using isolation movements. You may not have to and that’s cool, but you are not everyone so your approach doesn’t apply to everyone.
thank you for your apology. i just get a little PO’d when ppl use Christ’s name in conjunction with objectionable words or for really no reason at all. but at least you had the decency of aplologizing
GetSwole,
i know what you mean, there is a lack of civility on these forums. we see ppl who have weighed 130 lbs and gained 20+ lbs, but are still “bashed” cuz they’re still considered "weak’, “small”, “midget” or the most common one “troll”. some ppl here dont look at the progress made.
OP - are you good at ab exercises? I mean if you had to do weighted crunches, decline sit-ups or hanging leg raises would you be good at them? If not it is possible (not guaranteed certainly) that your abs aren’t as strong as you think and maybe if they were stronger it would benefit you. If you are good them and you look the way you want to, more power to you and keep on doing what you are doing.
I spent a couple of months not working my abs at all, they didn’t go anywhere and when I did some more ab exercises the weighted ones were the same, but the high rep ones were not. I do ab exercises bc no other exercise makes me feel it there, obviously…it’s an AB exercise.
i ve always felt like my abs have looked the same whether i trained them or not and thats not saying theyre impressive but even though im ecto ive never had a legit 6 or 8pack. as far as ab size thought theyre pretty big and i actually get ab stimulation throught the most random movements, like leg curls, tricep pushdowns, those things you keep your arms straight w/ straight bar and pushdown and of course things like deadlifts.
so for me i take the same approach to training abs as i do with forearms and just dont do them.
I have been training my abs like crazy for the last six months. I have been trying to bring out my bottom two abs. I am quite lean (~12%bf) but I guess I am not genetically gifted to have the bottom two abs. Instead I have to be content with a four pack. Life sucks!
[quote]mrsony wrote:
I have been training my abs like crazy for the last six months. I have been trying to bring out my bottom two abs. I am quite lean (~12%bf) but I guess I am not genetically gifted to have the bottom two abs. Instead I have to be content with a four pack. Life sucks![/quote]
drop your bf… how can you hope for a fucking 8pack with a 12% bf
i dont do any direct ab work, as i feel my big lifts do just fine.
however i think that whilst alot of ‘trainees’ respond well to direct ab work the OP may have been referring more to the ‘gym-goers’ who come in and spend 1/2 of every workout going through 8 different ab machines.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
OP - are you good at ab exercises? I mean if you had to do weighted crunches, decline sit-ups or hanging leg raises would you be good at them? If not it is possible (not guaranteed certainly) that your abs aren’t as strong as you think and maybe if they were stronger it would benefit you. If you are good them and you look the way you want to, more power to you and keep on doing what you are doing.[/quote]
Why would anyone be interested in how many leg raises someone can do?