hey guys,
i was wondering how you all work your lower abs.... I tried doing those leg raises, but they do nothing to me... I cant even feel it working.... maybe I am doing it wrong.
So yeah if you guys could tell me what you do to work work lower abs that would we cool..
Cheers
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Thread: lower abs
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11-29-2001, 01:21 AM #1
lower abs
"I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it"
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11-29-2001, 01:47 AM #2
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11-29-2001, 02:44 AM #3
In response to the last guy, when you are doing sit ups your psoas muscles are the primary muscles being engaged and not your abdominal exercises. So sit-ups are a pretty useless exercise if you want to get your abs in shape. Instead, use crunches, because they directly work your abs. Sit-ups can also damage your lower back over time.
for lower abs, use lying leg raises, they do work. Make sure your hands are palm down under your buttocks and your legs are kept off the floor. When you raise them make sure you do it so that you can feel your lower abs straining and not your psoas, after a while you'll definitly feel it. All I do for lower abs is 2 sets of 25 lying leg raises a couple of times a week it seems ok, you may want to do more.Life is what you make of it, nothing more and nothing less.
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11-29-2001, 03:04 AM #4
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Hmmmmm, here we go again.
Lower abs is a term that also needs to be better defined. Are we talking just about the lower section of the rectus abdominus, that is, the bit below the navel, or are we including the whole lower part of the obliques as well?
Funny thing is, last time I looked, the abs weren't connected to the legs at all, but the psoas muscles were. So, you can make up your own conclusions about that and leg raises.
The lower abs, in the common term, rotate the pelvic bone backwards. So, does that give you an idea about how to work them? The rectus abdominus can be thought of as a group pf muscles which just happen to, usually, work together. They can be contracted individually, that is, each part of the six pack, and to see someone rolling a coin along the abs by individual contraction is pretty amazing!
Anyway, crunches will work all the rectus, but the top bits will contract preferentially. The lower abs need to be worked by controlling the rolling of the pelvis.
Lie on your back with your knees bent, and flatten your back against the floor - that is a pelvic tilt. Now, try and maintain that position whilst you llift your legs off the floor. Can you do it?
Now, try and straighten your legs a little..how far can you go and still hold your pelvic tilt position? Now pull your legs back towards your chest and really crunch them abs up. Now starighten the legs again as far as you can go and still maintain your lpelvic tilt...
And so the cycle goes. If you are good, you can bring transverse abdominus into the same exercise or routine!
A good source of information is the books and tapes by Paul Chek in the USA.The science is out there!
www.thegymphysio.com.au
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11-29-2001, 04:57 AM #5
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11-29-2001, 06:00 AM #6
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11-29-2001, 06:07 AM #7
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11-29-2001, 06:55 AM #8
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11-29-2001, 01:24 PM #9
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11-29-2001, 02:02 PM #10
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11-29-2001, 06:31 PM #11
The bicycle's work pretty good. Ya know lying on ur back moving y9ou legs like ur peddlin a bike. Also try lying flat on a bench and doing reverse crunchs but extending your legs below paralell.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."-Albert Einstein
"Your ignorance cramps my conversation." -Anthony Hope
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11-29-2001, 07:05 PM #12
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11-29-2001, 09:46 PM #13
Hang onto the top of a decline bench with your hands wrapped around the foot and/or thigh holders. (Obviously your feet will be down where your head usually is if you were working chest on the decline bench). While holding on, curl your legs and pelvis up doing pretty much a reverse crunch.
I'm sore right at the naval and below for 2-3 days after doing 3 sets of these to failure."These are the times in our lives that we can die and still survive"
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11-29-2001, 10:39 PM #14
Muscles are meant to be worked together, not isolated. So when you do a compound movement like sit-ups which involve the abs, osas, and hip flexors, the abs get stimulated more. Its always best to hit your muscles from many different angles to recruit the most fibers, so doing sit-ups, crunches and hanging knee raises would be a very good work-out.
"Muscles are designed to function best in tandem with other muscles, and with the abs, that means bringing in the hip flexors."
That's from Ironmag, Jan. 2002.
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11-29-2001, 11:06 PM #15
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Originally posted by hooty mcboobs
Muscles are meant to be worked together, not isolated. So when you do a compound movement like sit-ups which involve the abs, osas, and hip flexors, the abs get stimulated more. Its always best to hit your muscles from many different angles to recruit the most fibers, so doing sit-ups, crunches and hanging knee raises would be a very good work-out.
"Muscles are designed to function best in tandem with other muscles, and with the abs, that means bringing in the hip flexors."
That's from Ironmag, Jan. 2002.
Who made that quote in Ironmag??The science is out there!
www.thegymphysio.com.au
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11-30-2001, 07:12 AM #16
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11-30-2001, 08:41 AM #17
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11-30-2001, 10:04 AM #18Originally posted by Fresch
Hmmmmm, here we go again.
Lower abs is a term that also needs to be better defined. Are we talking just about the lower section of the rectus abdominus, that is, the bit below the navel, or are we including the whole lower part of the obliques as well?
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12-01-2001, 02:23 AM #19
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"Why the heck do you try to sound all smart? I mean if someone is asking how other people work out their lower abs, what do most people think of when this is said. Yea thats right, just their abs. I think if he also meant the obliques too he would have specified it. Come on now, don't be stupid." Quote from above.
Well, unfortunately that is not the case. The obliques are often included in the term "lower abs"..it depends on who's talking as to whether they mean them or not! As I am not a mind reader, I don't know! So, I was mentioning that the matter needs to be better defined.
As you said, most people think it, but not all people!The science is out there!
www.thegymphysio.com.au
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08-28-2009, 07:56 AM #20
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Try holding your thighs at a 90 degree angle from your torso and your lower legs parallel to the floor. Try doing your crunches 2 seconds up, hold and squeeze for 2 secs, then lower for three. IF YOU KEEP YOUR KNEES TOGETHER YOU WILL FEEL IT IN YOUR LOWER ABS (as well as the rest). This works for everyone i have talked to. Try it for yourself, hold your knees apart for a set then together for a set and you will see the diference.
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08-28-2009, 08:03 AM #21
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08-28-2009, 09:26 AM #22
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08-31-2009, 11:03 PM #23
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03-07-2010, 02:50 PM #24
This post is surely old but my suggestion are for those who are reading this with the same dilemma . I have some good lower abs exercises you could try. I would suggest you perform the curls, crunches, bicycles, knee to chest stretch exercises. Start with 5-10 repetitions for each exercise and perform these 2-3 times per week. If you do this together with a low fat diet you'll see the abs that you wanted.
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03-07-2010, 03:28 PM #25
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03-07-2010, 03:57 PM #26
Hanging leg raises with a DB, Hanging leg raises at a pie/4 radian(for you math bros), and weighted crunches.
Great eloquence:
"You know I am not a quitter. Its like a dog, you know you can kick a dog so long and it will do two things. Its either going to roll over and die or its going to bite you and attack you and I am the kind of person who is the type of a dog who would bite back. I wasn't gonna roll over and quit."
-Mike Katz
Bench: 240x1
Squat: 255x1
Deadlift: 345x1
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03-07-2010, 04:15 PM #27
These will get you your beloved six packs.
Bicycle Crunches, Situps, (all the way till your stomach touches your legs) and Crunches.
Remember even if you do these exercises you WILL NOT get a six pack!
UNLESS YOU REDUCE YOUR BODYFAT PERCENTAGE BY DOING CARDIO. IN ORDER TO ACHEIVE A SIX PACK YOU MUST HAVE LITTLE BODYFAT AROUND YOUR STOMACH. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BURN STOMACH FAT BY DOING AB EXERCISES. IF YOU ARE BULKING IT WILL BE EXTREMELY HARD FOR YOU TO ACHEIVE A SIX PACK SINCE YOU ARE EATING A LOT!
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04-03-2010, 05:36 PM #28
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04-03-2010, 05:40 PM #29
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To target your abs you definitely want to do crunches.
Sit Ups are great though if you are doing them on a soft surface. Gym Floors, or even carpet can be very bad on the back. And others will complain about where you place your hands when doing them...Crossed on the Chest, Behind head, out forward, etc.
For my abs I like to do Leg lifts while holding a bar above my head. And I also like to do Crunch Machines at my gym. Just mess around with different excercises and see what gives you the most burn.
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04-06-2010, 07:32 AM #30
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