Workout Equipment Recommendations - ABS

[anonmouseuser]

Anyone have any experience with workout equipment specifically desiged for the abs? With so many products in the market, it is a bit difficult to tell which ones work and which ones do not. My budget is ~$300

Thanks.

 

[chr6]

lettuce, meat, water, sit-ups. play some ddr. go for a run. forget gadgets and gizmos.

 

[Special K]

You can get abs without even doing a crunch. It's all about the diet. Save your money.

 

[Tu13erhead]

.

 

[JohnCU]

cut the fat over the stomach first ftw.

 

[CKent]

Abs are 95% about having low enough bodyfat (8% and under, give or take) and 5% about actually having some development going on. As such, you need to eat right and do a lot of cardiovascular exercise to get them to show. If you buy those stupid infomercial wonder-ab machines, please PM me as I have some beachfront property for sale cheap in which you might be interested. It's in Arizona.

 

[Rip the Jacker]

Don't buy any equipment. Just do different types of ab exercises, and eat healthy.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Simple ab exercises. All that equipment is BS. And to get cut abds you need to cut fat.

 

[theGlove]

I'm also interested in this topic as I want to work on my abs.

What kind of exercises are good for the abs.
In terms of eating habbits, what's a good example of something to eat for like breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: theGlove

I'm also interested in this topic as I want to work on my abs.

What kind of exercises are good for the abs.
In terms of eating habbits, what's a good example of something to eat for like breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Lots of fiber and protein, carbs before and after high intensity cardio, simple 8 minute abs 3 times a week to strengthen abs. That's all you need for a six pack.

 

[dbk]

use the balls...maybe with a decline bench.

 

[kogase]

Use dumbells in your hands, hold them close to your chin and do crunches. Saxon side bends and windmills will help tone the rest of your core. If you want a sixpack... well, that's different from "having" abs, as in just strengthening them and having healthy abs. If you want abs and want to keep them you're going to be calorie counting your entire life unless you're some sort of genetic freak.

 

[Legend]

Originally posted by: theGlove

I'm also interested in this topic as I want to work on my abs.

What kind of exercises are good for the abs.
In terms of eating habbits, what's a good example of something to eat for like breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Breakfast:

Eggs (diet enhanced/free range is best)
Oats


I'll let someone else do the others. But eating 3 times a day isn't optimal. Do away with unhealthy snacks and have 6 small healthy meals a day.

 

[swimscubasteve]

bump for suggestions. i'm interested in this as well.

 

[Jinru]

In terms of workout, I've been using the 8 Minute Abs video for a couple years now and seeing great results. Though none of it matters if you have a layer of fat on top. As bachman and raptor said, diet is everything if you actually want to SEE the cut.

 

[Albis]

running seems to be the trick for me. run 2-3 miles a day and work up a good sweat. i do maybe 60 crunches a day and eat healthy and i got my 6-pack.

and eating healthy is the hard part. i cut out most sweets and went real basic. i tried to eat 4-5 meals a day plus fruit whenever i got hungry. always keep a bottle of water on hand as well.

 

[Xyclone]

1. Good diet (very low fat, not too many carbs if you're not doing INTENSE cardio, high protein and high fiber (to digest all that protein)).
2. LOTS and LOTS of REPS of ab exercises, such as: Crunches, Sit-ups, Russian Twists, and Bicycle Situps. Consistentcy is EVERYTHING.
3. Intense cardio to burn off the fat.
4. Flash your rockhard abs around.

Good luck!

 

[Xyclone]

Originally posted by: Albis
running seems to be the trick for me. run 2-3 miles a day and work up a good sweat. i do maybe 60 crunches a day and eat healthy and i got my 6-pack.

and eating healthy is the hard part. i cut out most sweets and went real basic. i tried to eat 4-5 meals a day plus fruit whenever i got hungry. always keep a bottle of water on hand as well.

Yes, plenty of water is NECESSARY!!! Drink AT LEAST a gallon a day. Water retention can make you look bulky, if you hydrate your body enough, it has no reason to retain water. Too much sodium (salt) can also contribute to water retention. Try to cut out sodium wherever you can. Don't add extra salt to dishes and meals, for example.

 

[RedArmy]

Anti-lock Braking System.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Xyclone
1. Good diet (very low fat, not too many carbs if you're not doing INTENSE cardio, high protein and high fiber (to digest all that protein)).
2. LOTS and LOTS of REPS of ab exercises, such as: Crunches, Sit-ups, Russian Twists, and Bicycle Situps. Consistentcy is EVERYTHING.
3. Intense cardio to burn off the fat.
4. Flash your rockhard abs around.

Good luck!

1. I disagree - healthy fats have their place in a good diet. You definitely don't want to go ultra low fat, but make sure you are eating healthy fats.

2. This is totally wrong. Your abs are muscles like any other. Would you train your arms by doing 100's of curls with 5 lb weights? Train your abs 1-2 times per week using weighted crunches, cable crunches, or some other lift where you can easily add resistance. Do 3 sets of 12-15 reps and work near failure.

3. Not unless you want to burn off muscle along with the fat. You can burn off the fat through diet alone, and it's safer to do it that way if you want to preserve muscle. Some cardio is fine, but don't go overboard.

I agree with the point about drinking lots of water.

Also if you really want to prevent muscle loss while dieting down you should be doing a weight training program involving low reps, heavy weight, and basic compound movements.

 

[Jinru]

Heres a short guide from WBB on steps to eating healthy while cutting. This is probably a bit more then you expected anonmouseuser, since your only asking for opinions on ab products. But it's not as easy as doing a couple sets of ab workouts and your good to go. Preferably, you will want to do a whole body workout as well. Having defined abs with no shoulder/pecs/back muscle to show with it results in muscle imbalance and a poor figure.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: Xyclone
1. Good diet (very low fat, not too many carbs if you're not doing INTENSE cardio, high protein and high fiber (to digest all that protein)).
2. LOTS and LOTS of REPS of ab exercises, such as: Crunches, Sit-ups, Russian Twists, and Bicycle Situps. Consistentcy is EVERYTHING.
3. Intense cardio to burn off the fat.
4. Flash your rockhard abs around.

Good luck!

1. I disagree - healthy fats have their place in a good diet. You definitely don't want to go ultra low fat, but make sure you are eating healthy fats.

Monounsaturated are good, fats from dairy are good also.

2. This is totally wrong. Your abs are muscles like any other. Would you train your arms by doing 100's of curls with 5 lb weights? Train your abs 1-2 times per week using weighted crunches, cable crunches, or some other lift where you can easily add resistance. Do 3 sets of 12-15 reps and work near failure.
Yep, and don't overtrain them, twice, or three times a week at the most. If you do not want bulky abs then do not do weighted exercises, body weight exercises for natural flat abs.

3. Not unless you want to burn off muscle along with the fat. You can burn off the fat through diet alone, and it's safer to do it that way if you want to preserve muscle. Some cardio is fine, but don't go overboard.
Lots of BCAA's, EAA's, and Protein during cutting to protect those muscle's, Scivation Xtend + Optimum Nutrition is a great stack together.

I agree with the point about drinking lots of water.
Lots
Also if you really want to prevent muscle loss while dieting down you should be doing a weight training program involving low reps, heavy weight, and basic compound movements.

I agree, just added some. Love to see another knowledgeable member here Special K.

 

[Legend]

Aside from the normal healthy diet and exercise, an inexpensive way to speed up body fat metabolism is green tea extract (or just the tea) and fish oil. I can find the study/article for that if anyone is interested.