abdominal "lifting" question

[paulxcook]

I really have no clue what to do to work my abs. I don't care about having a 6 pack, as I have way too much body fat to think about that right now, but I would like to strengthen my core for stability reasons.

Right now all I do is decline situps, which seem to work my lower abs pretty well in that they feel terrible when I do them. Really all of my abs feel awful, which I guess means they're getting worked.

Is this enough? I don't want to spend too much time on this as my workouts seem to last forever as it is, but if there's a 2nd exercise I can do that won't take too long I'll do it.

Also, how much volume should I be doing? I did 4 sets of 5 reps last night, just body weight. I know some people do hundreds of crunches or situps a day and that seems stupid, you don't do that with any other muscle. I'm cool with weighted situps or crunches, I just don't know how many sets and reps are appropriate for abs.

 

[MegaVovaN]

I would say crunches...do a set or two after your workout (you don't want tired abs under heavy barbell). As for how many reps in a set, don't do marathon numbers. Maybe 5-12 reps is enough. When that gets easy, switch to weighted crunches.

Do crunches straight up, as well as to the side.

Here's why sit ups suck:
http://worldfitnessnetwork.com....php/sit-ups-suck-abs/

P.S. my friend that took 2 years off lifting got into it 2 weeks ago and overdid sit ups, now his abs hurt 2 weeks later x_X

 

[Riverhound777]

I don't work my abs specifically. With all the compound lifts plus chip-ups and dips, I feel like I work my core just fine. Why do you feel the need to work it out more? Especially if you don't care about having a 6-pack.

 

[KoolDrew]

I don't think you need to hear this as you probably know this anyway, but... make sure to do your compound movements as your abs will get hit hard during them. In addition to this a lot of different things can be added. Side bends with a dumbell is great, as well as one handed farmer walks or side deadlifts (try to keep your core as tight as possible and don't bend to the side). The ab wheel is another great exercise. You could also try standing sit-ups. Face away from the lat pulldown machine with the tricep strap around the back of your neck and bend over as fatr as you can while pushing your abs out. You may find that your first time trying this it is difficult, but weight will quickly jump up and your squat and deadlift will likely improve. Leg lifts are always a great option as well.

I could probably thing of other stuff, but that should be enough.

 

[spamsk8r]

I do GHD situps with a full range of motion (i.e. touch the ground with an outstretched hand), alternating hands each rep. This kills my entire abdominal shelf, including the obliques. Unfortunately I haven't found too many gyms that have GHDs in them (GHD stands for Glute-Ham Developer, if you don't know).

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: spamsk8r
I do GHD situps with a full range of motion (i.e. touch the ground with an outstretched hand), alternating hands each rep. This kills my entire abdominal shelf, including the obliques. Unfortunately I haven't found too many gyms that have GHDs in them (GHD stands for Glute-Ham Developer, if you don't know).

I think I know this as a GHR, or Glute-Ham Raise machine. I don't think my gym has one of these, but a tall bench and a smith machine to hold my legs should do the same thing. I'm afraid I don't understand what you described though, any videos on youtube of this?

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
I don't think you need to hear this as you probably know this anyway, but... make sure to do your compound movements as your abs will get hit hard during them. In addition to this a lot of different things can be added. Side bends with a dumbell is great, as well as one handed farmer walks or side deadlifts (try to keep your core as tight as possible and don't bend to the side). The ab wheel is another great exercise. You could also try standing sit-ups. Face away from the lat pulldown machine with the tricep strap around the back of your neck and bend over as fatr as you can while pushing your abs out. You may find that your first time trying this it is difficult, but weight will quickly jump up and your squat and deadlift will likely improve. Leg lifts are always a great option as well.

I could probably thing of other stuff, but that should be enough.

No worries, I'm still squatting, deadlifting, rowing, OH pressing, etc, plenty of compounds. That's actually why I want to work my abs a bit more, so I can improve those lifts. I noticed during OH press that my core wasn't keeping me as stable as I'd like.