What exercises have you used to isolate the abs? My hip flexors are to tight and my back is messed up so I need to strengthen my abs without my hip flexors taking over witch will make things worse.
[quote]dylan10507 wrote:
What exercises have you used to isolate the abs? My hip flexors are to tight and my back is messed up so I need to strengthen my abs without my hip flexors taking over witch will make things worse.[/quote]
Do weighted pullups with a dumbell in between your ankles. You should feel it in your abs the next day. Worked for me…
[quote]dylan10507 wrote:
What exercises have you used to isolate the abs? My hip flexors are to tight and my back is messed up so I need to strengthen my abs without my hip flexors taking over witch will make things worse.[/quote]
I would try to get the hip flexors loose and the back fixed before doing anything else.
Look at Cressy and Robertson’s articles and see if that helps you with those problems.
[quote]ExNole wrote:
dylan10507 wrote:
What exercises have you used to isolate the abs? My hip flexors are to tight and my back is messed up so I need to strengthen my abs without my hip flexors taking over witch will make things worse.
I would try to get the hip flexors loose and the back fixed before doing anything else.
Look at Cressy and Robertson’s articles and see if that helps you with those problems. [/quote]
Yeah, work on stretching the hip flexors (lunge position with the rear leg straight, and with the rear leg bent), do pelvic tilts - where you lie on your back with your knees bent, and thighs vertical, and just push your lower back into the ground.
reverse crunshes and planks for isolation of the Abs.
I’d like to add that Ab Isolation is almost never needed as long as you do enough Deadlifting and Backsquatting (which are the best exercises f?r the Abdomen imho) and (as others have already said) stretching your hip flexors
check out some of the stuff Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey have written on here, there’s a few good articles regarding abdominal work, glute activation, and hip flexor tightness.
One thing that’s been helping me lately with the hip flexors is soft tissue work. I started with a foam roller but it’s a little hard to really work accurately and deep on the hip flexors, so I switched to a lacrosse ball.
Just put the ball on the floor and lay on it with the front and sides of your hips. I’m a pretty tough guy, but I’m not gonna lie, this had me damn near in tears, but it works. You’ll find a spot, trigger point maybe, that causes pretty much total agony, just keep pressure on it for 30 seconds at a time. After a little while you’ll feel it start to release, maybe not all the way, but it’s an amazing relief. Do that a few times a week, in combination with stretches and other work, and you’ll be well on your way to nice, loose hip flexors.
Thanks for the advice I have been stretching my hip flexors for now I can’t deadlift or back squat. What messed my back up was the hip flexors weak abs. and I just started deadlifting and it is my new favorite exercise and I did way to much in one workout I also really like squats. So I stupidly did a bunch of squats. Then like 3 sets of stiff legged deadlifts a bunch of heavy deadlifts to see how much I could do and 3 sets of romanian deadlifts. Witch made my back really sore and It got tigther through out the day till I could barely stand straight. It was mostly the hip flexors but the deadlifts and squats deafinitley contributed.
Also just now I can’t find the articles what are they called?
I’m surprised no one mentioned bridges, I think those are a valuable tool for the abs.
[quote]Petrichor wrote:
I’d like to add that Ab Isolation is almost never needed as long as you do enough Deadlifting and Backsquatting (which are the best exercises f?r the Abdomen imho) and (as others have already said) stretching your hip flexors[/quote]
The thing with not doing abdominal exercises and lots of deads and back squats is that you are more likely to have your pelvis tilt anteriorly (your rear end with tilt back). That is what the initial post was about.