tnf wrote:ToxicBug wrote:tnf wrote:Example - very basic and traditional routine
Day 1 - chest/triceps/front delts
day 2 - back/biceps/traps and rear delts
day 3 - off
day 4 - legs -
day 5 - off
day 6 - cycle repeats
So when should I do abs?
Do them on the off days maybe. 2-3 times a week or so. Remember, doing crunches isn't what burns the fat off your stomach.
I'm going to be bowing out of this discussion. PM me if you have specific questions, but I've been pretty crappy at getting back to people with individualized information lately...I'll try though.
To add to that, I've found that doing abs on the same day as legs works well, because there are exercises which allow you to work both at the same time.
I have a favorite for this; I'm not sure the name of the exercise, I just call it a triple leg-crunch. You've seen people doing crunches where they look like they're raising their elbows to alternate sides, back and forth -- this is similar, but better.
Lay on your back. Raise your head slightly off the floor. Raise your legs so your knees are nearly at a 90 degree angle -- shins parallel to the floor, but thighs mostly straight up. Keep your hands closed into fists beside your head.
Once you're there do a crunch, bringing your right elbow toward your left knee. At the same time, straighten your right leg out towards the floor, but don't let it fall to the floor (your thigh should only go to about a 45 degree angle from the floor). So, you're crunching to the left with your right elbow, and bringing your left knee up to nearly meet it -- at the same time, you're extending your right leg out, and it acts as a counter-balance. After that, do the same thing with the opposite elbow/knee. Once you've done that, and returned to your resting position, you do the third crunch with both elbows, while pulling both knees in towards you. I count those 3 crunches together as one rep, and usually do 33 reps of those, then rest a minute and do at least another 15.
Make sure you never put your hand behind your head, because you will start trying to lift your head with your hands, and that is very bad for your neck. Always keep the hands beside your head, without actually touching it.
Once you get the hang of it, you can get in a good rhythm and do them fairly quickly. The advantage is that lifting the legs works your lower abs while the crunching is working the uppers, and the side-to-side motion gets your lateral abs too. Doing a fairly high number of reps, and then burning out with a lower number (until you feel the burn and just can't do them anymore), works really well for toning, which is what you want in ab exercises to begin with.
But, just like it was said earlier, all the ab exercises in the world won't get rid of fat on the belly. And having a perfect 6-pack won't make much difference to you if it's covered up with a little fat. You have to do cardio and watch your diet for that part of it.