How often to train abs?

Kraken

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Try it. It may not be the best for you, but it checks some boxes.

It allows a good stretch/lengthening of the abs, under load, and allows you to scale it from easier (ball up a bit higher with hands by your side) to harder (ball a bit lower, hands on chest, hands behind head).

Focus on tightening your abs, it's NOT sitting up. There won't be much movement, the only thing that should really move is hinging at the mid abs. The pic is pretty accurate for the starting and ending positions.
Turns out the ball my girl has is just ginormous; my feet couldn't stay flat on the floor and it didn't go well. I tried a 26 inch ball at the gym. It seemed the right size, but I kept nearly rolling off the thing. What's the trick to remaining stable on it?


Take that ball or one a bit smaller, lying on a bench with the ball between your legs at the feet and do crunches that way using you leg and not torso. Hold the bench real good with your hands.
I don't think I'm there yet...
 

SFGiants

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Turns out the ball my girl has is just ginormous; my feet couldn't stay flat on the floor and it didn't go well. I tried a 26 inch ball at the gym. It seemed the right size, but I kept nearly rolling off the thing. What's the trick to remaining stable on it?

Grab the bench in back of your head, the end of the bench.

Your legs shouldn't be straight, it's like a hanging knee raise or supported knee raise.

You are bringing your knees towards your chest, a crunch.

Your feet should be flat or close to it on the floor, hands grabbing other end of the bench.
 

SFGiants

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Turns out the ball my girl has is just ginormous; my feet couldn't stay flat on the floor and it didn't go well. I tried a 26 inch ball at the gym. It seemed the right size, but I kept nearly rolling off the thing. What's the trick to remaining stable on it?



I don't think I'm there yet...
Like this but on a bench

 

CJ

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Turns out the ball my girl has is just ginormous; my feet couldn't stay flat on the floor and it didn't go well. I tried a 26 inch ball at the gym. It seemed the right size, but I kept nearly rolling off the thing. What's the trick to remaining stable on it?



I don't think I'm there yet...

Smaller ball is better, yes.

Anchor your feet under the couch or something.
 

CJ

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The leg raises people are suggesting will only work the abs if you curl your pelvis up.

Your abs do not attach to your legs at all, and have zero ability to raise your legs. Think of your legs are merely weight added to the pelvis. The pelvis is curled up with the added weight of the legs, bend the knees to make it easier, straighten them a bit to increase the difficulty to progress when needed.
 

SFGiants

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Thanks, my understanding was that this can be easily done wrong to work the hip flexors instead.
Yeah. that's why on a bench you'll curl your body more than this guy.

Trust me, done right it's brutal, 3 sets to 4 of 15 to 20, you might not even be able to finish a rep at some point.

Boxers don't mess around when it come to ab work, have to take punches!
 

Kraken

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Yeah. that's why on a bench you'll curl your body more than this guy.

Trust me, done right it's brutal, 3 sets to 4 of 15 to 20, you might not even be able to finish a rep at some point.

Boxers don't mess around when it come to ab work, have to take punches!
Okay I'll try it thanks!
 

Yano

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Yeah. that's why on a bench you'll curl your body more than this guy.

Trust me, done right it's brutal, 3 sets to 4 of 15 to 20, you might not even be able to finish a rep at some point.

Boxers don't mess around when it come to ab work, have to take punches!
took me a few years to work up to 4 sets of 30 , do em every workout just out of habit still.
 

Yano

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Okay I'll try it thanks!
When you get the right form , you will feel it , its a stretch feeling across your abs as you lower your legs to the floor and your back arches slightly , then you really feel it on the crunch.

It takes a bit of time to stop using your legs n hips to perform this ,, like @CJ said , most folks are using the wrong shit to do these , he helped me out too.

An like @SFGiants mentioned it aint easy , it burns like hell finishing a set at first but its worth it , ive been doing em for years and my last set still gets my belly burning.
 
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I dont know if its considered a "good" ab exercise but I like decline sit ups... you get the most tension in the most stretched position and the more weight I gain the harder they get.
 

Gadawg

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I do abs every lifting day. Maybe 3 sets to failure. I only do a few exercises and just pick one per day. Pulley rope crunches, decline or hanging sit ups, and hanging leg raises. I used to get very lean and just have a kind of flat midsection. One year of dedicated work and theyre one of my better muscle groups.
 
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I’ve been loving these 2 exercises from the late great mountain dog. Do them 3x a week.

I always feel dumbbell pullover pretty heavy in up upper abs. Anyone else have the same experience or an I just doing them wrong. Same with cable pullovers.
 

CJ

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I’ve been loving these 2 exercises from the late great mountain dog. Do them 3x a week.

I always feel dumbbell pullover pretty heavy in up upper abs. Anyone else have the same experience or an I just doing them wrong. Same with cable pullovers.

These are exactly how to do them!!!
 
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