Ab exercises to lose weight

[jtvang125]

My wife and I have started working out to lose some weight. I enjoy lifting weights more so I concentrate on that and occasionally throw in some cardio (tm and bike). My wife is the opposite so she's running and doing ab exercises. I see the running helping but I think at this point the time she spends on doing the ab exercises would be better spent on doing more cardio or other exercises that work the larger muscle groups. I know it's never bad to work on your core but aren't your abs just too small of a muscle group to contribute very much to burning calories?

Instead of doing just these I told her it'll be much more beneficial to do squats, lunges, and dead lifts. Am I right or am I giving her bad advice?

 

[Deeko]

You are correct. You will not lose weight by doing crunches. From a visual perspective having ab muscles that are concealed under fat is meaningless, and exercising the muscles in an area does not stimulate fat loss in that same area. Frankly, while lifting big weights and doing cardio will help, abs are made in the kitchen not the gym. Diet is the most important component of weight loss.

 

[cbrunny]

Well.... hold on a sec here.

Bad advice is going on the internets and asking internet strangers how your wife can lose more weight. If you value your life, I suggest you make no mention of this to her.

To the topic at hand, a properly maintained core includes a TON of muscles, and when toned can contribute greatly to improving your metabolic rate. That means nothing if you don't control your diet though.

It would be easier to provide some advice too if we had a sense of what kind/volume of running she was doing. E.g. 2 km a day is a lot different than 5km a day, or 10km a day, or run/walk, or... well.. you get the point. Depending on her exercise volume and her past experience with running, she may be doing things just fine. Good runners need a strong core, and usually when a runner irresponsibly ups their mileage or incorporates a ton of cross-training things get injured quick. Then you're on the couch gettin fat (like me. I'm injured).

 

[BW86]

Want to lose weight? Eat less. That's all it really is - eat at a caloric deficit.

 

[moonbogg]

If she wants to do crunches, let her do them. Don't discourage her. I have discovered that, at least for me, working out is an evolving journey. I might not always start with what others would consider to be the best method, but in reality the best method is the one I am enthusiastic enough about to actually do. In order to evolve an exercise lifestyle, consistency is the most critical thing, far and above choosing between crunches and squats. My 2c

 

[mike8675309]

"doing ab crunches" assumes so much. Ab crunches are a good part of a over all core workout. Also you need to be using enough resistance when you do those workouts to get gains. If she really wants to work on her core there is many other things she should be doing in addition to ab crunches. People see these ab machines on TV that then show someone with a well developed abdomen but ab crunches don't build all of that.
Other good core exercises:
Knee ups
Ball Knee ups
Plank
Side plank
Side bends
butterfly kicks
ball leg transfer
Russian twists
etc... search on google for core exercises. Many examples. If your gym has medicine balls, there are some core exercises you can do together passing the ball back and forth

Along the same lines make sure both of you are doing the exercises right with a full range of motion. I've seen way too many people at the gym over the last few weeks that are short stroking the movements, way to low of a weight, and just plain using the equipment wrong. I help them where I can but I'm not a trainer. I did invest in a trainer for the first few months so I could learn how to do it right.

 

[skyking]

I'll add to all that above with:
If you have more muscle mass, you can burn more fat. If a person is working on and building core muscles, any dieting and weight loss will be that much better than a relatively sedentary lifestyle and diet alone.

 

[blackdogdeek]

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/fat-loss-how-to-lose-the-bulge-and-gain-the-ripples.162171/

Pay special attention to this section:

EXERCISE WHILE DIETING/CUTTING

 

[preslove]

Abs are the least important part of the core. The "core" is really your lower back, hip abductors, gluteal muscles, & quads. These are all super important to walking and running, as well as preventing lower back pain. Working on your abs helps nothing. Ab workouts are always on the "worst exercises lists."

If your wife loves running and wants to get better at it, have her work with even small weights on the muscles I mentioned, interspersed with stuff like jumping jacks, jogging in place, & other polymetrics. This will build the muscles that will prevent running injuries (running causes tons of injuries), while also helping with running performance.

Google: weight training for running.

 

[jaksonlee62]

Crunches: The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches. ...
Walking: A very simple cardio exercise which helps you lose the belly fat and stay fit. ...
. Zumba: ...
. Vertical leg exercises: ...
. Cycling: ...
. Aerobics:

 

[Minimi14]

You are right, I just train the press 2 times a week, the main food, and workouts for burning fat.

 

[daveybrat]

quote of spam post deleted

If only there was a website that could give us that daily advice and preventive measures

 

[Remobz]

My wife and I have started working out to lose some weight. I enjoy lifting weights more so I concentrate on that and occasionally throw in some cardio (tm and bike). My wife is the opposite so she's running and doing ab exercises. I see the running helping but I think at this point the time she spends on doing the ab exercises would be better spent on doing more cardio or other exercises that work the larger muscle groups. I know it's never bad to work on your core but aren't your abs just too small of a muscle group to contribute very much to burning calories?

Instead of doing just these I told her it'll be much more beneficial to do squats, lunges, and dead lifts. Am I right or am I giving her bad advice?

AB exercises DO NOT make you lose weight. Many AB exercises are actually useless. You gain AB muscles from lifting weights and doing many different body routines like bench press, back, shoulders etc.

Losing weight will make your ABs more visible. That body fat needs to disappear through weight loss diet for ABs to appear. Then certain AB exercises can help to make the muscles "bigger' in appearance.

In other words, a good diet meal plan comes first followed by working out and gaining muscles. The lower the body fat then the ABs will be more visible, which you can then focus on certain AB exercises to make the muscles more visible.

 

[Remobz]

Abs are the least important part of the core. The "core" is really your lower back, hip abductors, gluteal muscles, & quads. These are all super important to walking and running, as well as preventing lower back pain. Working on your abs helps nothing. Ab workouts are always on the "worst exercises lists."

If your wife loves running and wants to get better at it, have her work with even small weights on the muscles I mentioned, interspersed with stuff like jumping jacks, jogging in place, & other polymetrics. This will build the muscles that will prevent running injuries (running causes tons of injuries), while also helping with running performance.

Google: weight training for running.

Walking is the key here as well. Walking has helped me a lot. I have knee injuries from the past that makes running difficult.

 

[David-Jack]

You can't lose belly fat by exercising your abs alone. For total-body fat loss, use a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training, such as lifting weights. In addition, eat a healthy diet with plenty of protein, fiber and portion con trol — all of which are proven to help reduce body fat. The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches.