Abdominal Exercises/Equipment.

Hey all, i'm looking to some recommendations on abdominal exercises, besides situps......or even some equipment. I think i'm getting pilonidal sinus near my tailbone area (yes i know, go get it checked out) and can hard reel off even just a set of situps.

Just having trouble moving whats left of the weight i want to lose off my stomach aswell. I've got an exercise wheel, you can really feel it work right to the core, but in my opinion its a little bad for your back or at least until its worked up a bit more. So at this stage i'm trying not to use it too much. Against a wall, instead of the floor isn't to bad on the back though.

So advice on exercises, equipment and even technique requested, i have dum bell program that i am doing and thats all fine, the guns are comming along nicely /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. Just need to move the belly!

Pick 2 that you are comfortable with. Linky

Do you having time on the pavement or treadmill? That was my weak point for a while until I ramped up my running. I now have leaner fuller muscle vs, just being bulky with a smallish gut. I dropped 2 inches on my waist and put on an inch on the chest now (41 chest, 28 waist.)

I always find a nice slow 1 mile run before a lifting program (after a set of pull-ups and stretch) helps a lot and reduces cahnce of injury due to the muscles/body being warmed up.

I have a hard time doing 20 sit-ups while hanging upside down, but I stick to normal sit-ups on a decline bench.

I use the wheel every now and then but I generally don't touch it (I'm usually burnt out by the time I use it.)

Slow movements really concentrating on the abs works good for me. No point in doing 100 really fast sit-ups/ab workout that barely uses the muscle vs momentum, when slow repetitions takes away the momentum and really hits the core.

Leg raises, bicycle kicks, hello dollies, and crunches done in counts of 4 back to back really kill my abs to the point of almost bringing me into the fetal positions, lol. All you need for these calisthenics is grass or a pad.

Stair master machines and the wheel always work best for me. You can get creative if you have workout partners. We did one for a while where you lay on the floor in a situp postion (knees bent) and someone holds a 10 lb plate way over your chest just out of your normal reach while sitting up. You then do sit up and reach out with your arms as high as possible and try to touch the plate. The other person gradually keeps moving it further away until you reach your limit. Kinda hard to explain but easy to understand if you see it....worked great for us.

Hi Hi

Glad to see you're sticking with your fitness regime.

I'll be using some of these tips for my own program.

Great stuff guys

Crunches on an exercise ball, then supine bicycle, and reverse crunches all work the abs very well. Be sure to work the olbiques too. Start in the crunch/situp position. On your back with your knees bent. Drop your legs to one side so your lower body is sort of twisted and raise your upper body concentrating on your obliques (sides of your abs). Then do the other side.

Dafiend, what is that exercise wheel you mentioned? Is it one of those wheels with a handle running through it that you use facing the ground (on feet or knees)? A very affective abdominal exerciser is the one called an "ab-roller". I know, they also call the excercise wheel an ab-roller, too (sometimes). The one I'm talking about is the other ab-roller, though. Search for ab-roller on ebay, and you'll see the one I'm talking about (also called ab-cruncher). Those things really work! I have one, and it targets my abs better than anything I've tried. I've seen it reviewed or challenged before in Mens Health, and Muscle and Fitness, and they both say that it's just about as effective as unassisted crunches. I've found it to be really easy on the tail-bone, too. You can often find them at garage sales and swapmeets. It's really simple, but really gets the job done. It even makes it seem like your exerting much less effort (probably because your abs are isolated more....more abs,less legs)

Been a bit flat out.... sorry guys.

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shifty646 said:
Pick 2 that you are comfortable with. Linky


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Thank you! I forgot about About.com always good info there.

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JasonC8301 said:

Do you having time on the pavement or treadmill? That was my weak point for a while until I ramped up my running. I now have leaner fuller muscle vs, just being bulky with a smallish gut. I dropped 2 inches on my waist and put on an inch on the chest now (41 chest, 28 waist.)



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I don't do a great deal of running, i run around tuesday, thursday and sundays with the footballers i help train/run water. But i have jumped back on the pushy the last week or so. I don't know what my actual body measurements are, but can tell you that ALL my clothes are too big for me. But yeah, i'll back on the bike 5 days a week after this week. Just easing back on the saddle /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. But i have lost 29kg (about 64 pounds for you americans) and am onto a third belt, weigh 85kg. I used to wear 102-107's pants Depending on the make, i can just squeeze into a pair of 87's. Used to wear XXL shirts, can get into some mediums now. I'm really enjoying working on this sculpture. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Always hard at the start, but when you're not carrying more or less 30kg, it just gets easier.
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Stingray said:
Stair master machines and the wheel always work best for me. You can get creative if you have workout partners.


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Yeah, i'd really like some one to work out with now. It just makes everything easier when you have someone push you even harder, and not let you give up.
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tkgear said:

Hi Hi

Glad to see you're sticking with your fitness regime.

I'll be using some of these tips for my own program.

Great stuff guys


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Hey Brian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif ,

Long time no see. I'll try and drop you a PM later today.

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Unicorn said:
Crunches on an exercise ball


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My cousin's wife has one of these, i think i'm going to poach it. She isn't using it, and well, she can't be bothered to blow it up either. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
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Trashman said:
Dafiend, what is that exercise wheel you mentioned?


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Yep, its the wheel with handle. You can get ones with 2 wheels, for more stability, but i find the single one gets your lateral obliques a bit more, the subtle rocking you get trying to keep it well controlled. There is also one that has 3 wheels *i think*, but has gears that are spring loaded (looks like a mini vacuum), to help pull it back in, but thats cheating /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Used to have an ab-roller, but i lost it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif . I have absolutely no idea what happened.

Thanks for all the pointers and stuff guys. Always looking for advice, updates and inspiration. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif