ab workout. Am I over-doing it?

[rwalsh182]

hey guys. So I work out abs usually Mondays and Thursdays. My routine goes as follows:

1. 4 super sets with 3 exercises: crunches w/ 25lbs. on bosu ball, Hanging knee raises w/ 12lbs, and reverse ab crunches w/ 8 lbs.

2. 12 reps straight arm crunches w/ 10lbs, side bends, and usually some other random exercise.

So my question is if that is to much work when all my exercises are weighted. It usually takes me about 30 min. to get through it, but it is kind of a brutal 30 min.

[davidlaboza]

I used to workout my abs in a similar fashion and it would take me approximately 20 minutes. Then, I switched to a new kind of training. 5~8 minute workouts of different exercises targeting different parts of the abs with only a 45 second rest in the mix. The change was extremely intense, but I also noticed that I got a lot more out of it. For abs, I would go for intensity and perform exercises until failure instead of an actual rep count. If you do want to maintain a rep count, then choose a weight that makes you struggle and fail by the time you reach that rep.

[fightingfalcn91]

Nah, looks good. But only you can tell if that particular routine is too much for ya.

[rwalsh182]

Yeah, I just here so many mixed thoughts on this subject. Some people do very little ab work and some people do an insane amount. So i just went in the middle of the 2 extremes i guess

[BOOGADA]

Well, how do your abs look from this routine you do?

[keys_10]

Yeah, I just here so many mixed thoughts on this subject. Some people do very little ab work and some people do an insane amount. So i just went in the middle of the 2 extremes i guess

Thats not a bad place to start, from there you can adjust as you see fit.

[doinmiabs]

Well, how do your abs look from this routine you do?

^This! I mean, is it working for you ? It doesn't sound like "too much" to me at all, but if you aren't getting the esults you want then you have to take a closer look at the routine and how you are executing it.

[rwalsh182]

I'm seeing decent results, plus i'm on a slow bulk. I was 160lbs about a year and a half ago, then i went on a low carb diet(bad idea) and then got sick and lost more weight till I was about 122lbs. I dont think BF% is my problem because even after losing over 30lbs i couldnt see them. But now that im gaining weight im actually seeing them more. I think i just lost a ton of freaking muscle over that 1-1/2 years

[miamibodybuilder]

no it isnt because every persons body is different and responds differently to all types of stimuli. when i'm gettting ready for a contest i actually do abs every single day, i pick 3 or 4 exercises and do about 15-20 reps for all exercises. dont listen to the hype of overtraining because again what works for one person might not work for the other. so if this is working for you, keep doing it. once you see the progress come to a halt, switch things up.