Extreme Abdominal Workout - Help me tweak it!

[Dracoy]

Hi guys,

I alternate between cardio and weight lifting days. My weight lifting days are pretty solid but my cardio days are starting to slack.

I do HIIT + abdominals during cario days. I really need help with picking out a few GOOD abdominal workouts. Here is what I do.

1. Pull Ups, 4 Sets, 7 Reps per Set
2. 15 Minutes HIIT, 30 second intervals.

In the gym.

# Captains Chair, 25 reps.
# Weighted Obliques, 20 reps, left side.
# Weighted Obliques, 20 reps, right side.
# Incline Abdominal Sit Up, 20 reps.
# Incline Abdominal Oblique Twist Sit Up, 20 reps, alternating.
# Lower Ab Workout, 25 reps.

In my room.

3. Bicycles, 100 reps, alternating.
4. Bent Knee Abdominal Hip Raises, 25 reps.
5. Abdominal Flutter Kicks, 50 reps.
6. Overhead Abdominal Crunches, 20 reps.
7. Bicycles, 50 reps, alternating.
8. Finger to Toes Abdominal Crunches, 20 reps.
9. Abdominal Tuck Crunches, 50 reps.
10. Finger to Heel Oblique Twists, 50 reps, alternating.
11. Oblique Twists, 50 reps, alternating.
12. Bicycles, 50 reps, alternating.
13. Dumbbell Oblique Side Bends, 30 reps each side, 50 pounds.
14. Exercise Ball Crunches, 50 reps.
15. Exercise Ball Side Crunches, 50 reps, alternating.
16. Exercise Ball Abdominal Pull Ins, 50 reps.
17. AB Bridge, 1 Minute.

If you are interested in finding what an exercise is download my excel...

http://yanyanxu.com/2008/01/04/exercise-schedule/

As you can tell huge volume in the ab routine, I don't think this is the right approach and too much work for unglamorous results.

I want to keep 15 minutes of HIIT cardio constant as well as pull ups for warm ups. But would like to develop a solid ab routine that isn't too long but will shred my lower/middle/upper abs to shreds.

Thanks!

Dracoy

[extremenergy3]

hahaha Wish I could help but my abs suck! Try some weighted ab movements?

[Dracoy]

Yea mostly I do cardio/abs in my dorm gym, only a 35 pound plate down there which is random.

I'm trying to find the best and most concise exercises I can do instead of doing these million of exercises.

[extremenergy3]

Yea mostly I do cardio/abs in my dorm gym, only a 35 pound plate down there which is random.

I'm trying to find the best and most concise exercises I can do instead of doing these million of exercises.

Hm... your abs look pretty good already. I'd go with variations of weighted crunches (flat, on a decline bench, etc.) and weighted romanian chair lifts (hold a dumbbell with your feet). With weighted exercises, you will do less reps but still have an intense ab workout. I don't do too much for my abs because I feel that weighted crunches get my upper abs and chair lifts get my lower. I guess I should hit it from other angles, but I dunno if that'd make much more of a difference except incorporate other body parts that don't need to be used (one of my tidbits with using a decline bench is that it uses my quads a lot to stabilize).

Blah I dunno lol my abs suck! Don't listen to me lol

[theACEofSPADES]

INTENSITY----------TIME----------SPEED----------ELEVATION

Warm Up------------2min----------5MPH----------------0
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------1
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------1
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------1
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------3
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Walk-----------------1min----------1MPH----------------0
Run------------------1min----------8MPH-----------------5
Cool Down-----------4min---------1MPH-----------------0

TOTAL: 30 MINUTES

========DIRECTLY AFTER HIIT========

CIRCUIT PROGRAM
Lower Ab Crunch - 10 reps
Leg Raise/Hip Up - 10 reps
Side Crunch - 10 reps (each side)
Knee Up - 15 reps
Lying Crunch - 15 reps


ACTIVE REST (two to three minutes)
Basic Ab Stretch x2
Side Bends x2
Stomach Vacuums x2

Repeat Circuit x3

http://www.musclemedia.com/training/BootCamp.asp

Thats what I do

[Dracoy]

Wow 30 minutes of HIIT I don't think I'd survive that haha. 15 minutes is already pushing it.

I"ll check out your ab routine it looks awesome!

[Al Swearengen]

reverse hypers if the gym has one, are incredible for abs among several other things.

[bookv]

A couple exercises i like to do:

cable ab crunches
3 point medicine ball sit-up (sit on a decline sit-up bench, hold a medicine ball in front of you, on the 1st rep, sit straight up, go back down, 2nd rep, twist to left, go back down, 3rd rep, twist to right, and repeat)

[vegasdsm]

dragon flags (havent been mentioned).... they kill me...

swiss ball crunches.. (with your feet together.... breathe out prior to coming up and pull your diaphram in.....)

swiss ball crunches (for your serratus) with 5 or 10 lb plates in your hands... w/your arms extended above your face..... (reach for the sky and feel your serratus burn like a mutha)

saxxon side bends (more for core... but really good)

[Dracoy]

Will google all of these.

So I should do circuit with 6-7 exercises at low reps? with 3x circuits?

[Pound4pound]

Try some weighted crunches and sit-ups on a roman chair, you'll love 'em!

[dethmetalanimal]

This is a great core workout


http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459681

[Zeus almighty]

4 sets of 50 reps of leg raises (lay on bench so legs hang off)
4 sets of 25 reps of reverse crunches (i keep my feet 6 inches off the ground completely straight then bring in my knees to my chest also doing a crunch to touch my knees)
500 sit-ups (after every 40 i do 10 with a twist at the top)
4 sets of 50 reps on each side of side crunches
5 sets of 1 minute of lying bicycle
then do a superset of 15 reps each of these exercises back to back till i go through it 5 times =
leg raises, crunches, reverse crunches, side twist, side crunches, vacuums.

cardio wise i get it all from sports (I play rugby for tech and do other sports on the side)

[Dracoy]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll reform my ab workout tonight or tomorrow and post it for you guys to critique.

[Dracoy]

Making my new program now. Still taking suggestions.

Going to be a circuit of 3 rotations.

[Dracoy]

http://yanyanxu.com/2008/04/04/abdominal-revamping/

[Dracoy]

What do you guys think?