Not Having Good Ab Workouts :(

[Athens2302]

Whenever I try to do ab workouts, I always end up feeling burn more so in other parts of my body, and not my abs. Mostly my legs. And I know I don't have weak legs because I'm on the cross country, swimming, and track team. Cardio every day. Weak legs are the last thing I have. So then why do I feel so much burn in my legs when I do ab exercises? I feel like another contributing factor is that I have a really short torso and long legs. Not sure if that really matters though. I want to get abs so bad, but that is my main thing holding me back.

[latverian41]

Make sure your form is good on the ground and make slow movments. If you are doing crunches and or sit ups pause for a second as you go back down and dont go back all the way to the floor keep about an inch between the floor and your back.. Same with leg raises. Dont let your feet touch the floor on the way down. Keep an inch or two between them and the floor.

What kind of ab work are you doing

[Athens2302]

Make sure your form is good on the ground and make slow movments. If you are doing crunches and or sit ups pause for a second as you go back down and dont go back all the way to the floor keep about an inch between the floor and your back.. Same with leg raises. Dont let your feet touch the floor on the way down. Keep an inch or two between them and the floor.

What kind of ab work are you doing

I usually try to do ones that don't require any equipment, so, planks, russian twists, oblique jack knives, and various leg raises.

[SuffolkPunch]

I want to get abs so bad, but that is my main thing holding me back.

No it isn't

Many people get decent abs without any direct abdominal training - and certainly not any lengthy specialised ab workouts.

The way to get ab definition is to build muscle all over your body using a whole body routine featuring major compounds (and not making statements like "my legs are big from running"). And then you diet to lose bodfat and get your BF% below about 12%

And also:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1605297811

[TolerantLactose]

Weak legs are the last thing I have.

Many people say this. Many people are wrong. What events do you compete in on the track team?

[Athens2302]

Many people say this. Many people are wrong. What events do you compete in on the track team?

I mostly do distance, so like, the mile, two mile, sometimes the 800.

[Athens2302]

No it isn't

Many people get decent abs without any direct abdominal training - and certainly not any lengthy specialised ab workouts.

The way to get ab definition is to build muscle all over your body using a whole body routine featuring major compounds (and not making statements like "my legs are big from running"). And then you diet to lose bodfat and get your BF% below about 12%

Yeah, I reposted to see if I could get any different answers, I didn't expect the same people to reply, lol. But since then, I have slowed down the amount of ab workouts I do, and started doing leg workouts like you said ("Instead focus on your whole body including the major muscle groups like the legs, glutes, hamstrings etc. "), and it's certainly helped, but it's still just not. . . there. And about the dieting thing, I have thought about dieting multiple times in the past, but my parents always tell me that dieting is the last thing I need, but honestly, I don't know if they're the best people to be taking advice from, as they're not exactly the most in-shape people lol.

[Garage Rat]

When you anchor your feet under a weight or bar and do say sit ups or crunches the hip flexors(top of the quads)help considerable especially if you abs are weaker.
So the quads feel it more than the abs.
Try putting your heels behind a weight or very low bar and do the same exercises.
You should feel a difference.
I use a heavy kettle bell and my legs are in a frog type position,knees outward and feet together.
The other technique issue you should be doing is as you do a rep the air is out of your abdomen and you flex the abs as you come up and contract.

[TolerantLactose]

I mostly do distance, so like, the mile, two mile, sometimes the 800.

So that would be endurance, not strength.

[Athens2302]

So that would be endurance, not strength.

Okay. . . that doesn't mean I don't have muscular legs. Especially our team, as we do more hill workouts than any other team in the region. And on top of all that, I also do leg workouts at home.

[Athens2302]

When you anchor your feet under a weight or bar and do say sit ups or crunches the hip flexors(top of the quads)help considerable especially if you abs are weaker.
So the quads feel it more than the abs.
Try putting your heels behind a weight or very low bar and do the same exercises.
You should feel a difference.
I use a heavy kettle bell and my legs are in a frog type position,knees outward and feet together.
The other technique issue you should be doing is as you do a rep the air is out of your abdomen and you flex the abs as you come up and contract.

I never thought of this before. Thanks for the tip.

[TolerantLactose]

Okay. . . that doesn't mean I don't have muscular legs. Especially our team, as we do more hill workouts than any other team in the region.

Your team of endurance athletes does more hill workouts than other teams of endurance athletes in the region.

And on top of all that, I also do leg workouts at home.

What is your workout and what are the weights you use?

[Athens2302]

Your team of endurance athletes does more hill workouts than other teams of endurance athletes in the region.



What is your workout and what are the weights you use?

Currently, gyms in my area are closed due to covid, so I've been stuck using the equipment I have at home, which isn't much. I only have a total of 30 lbs of weight plates, excluding the weight of the bar. I've been working with what I've got.

Squats (30 lbs), 3 sets until failure,
Walking Lunges (30 lbs) 3 sets until failure
Bodyweight Calf Raises (30 lbs), 3 sets until failure

[TolerantLactose]

What can you normally squat?

[CommitmentRulz]

OP, what is your age, height, and weight?

It's very unlikely that you're going to "skinny" yourself to abs and look decent.

[Athens2302]

OP, what is your age, height, and weight?

It's very unlikely that you're going to "skinny" yourself to abs and look decent.

16, 5'11, 150 lbs.

[arnold02bicol07]

Losing weight is not a very difficult thing, if one regularly follows a routine , a proper diet chart , and does exercise. For that, it is better to consult a dietician who can provide you a proper diet chart which you should follow every day. Try to eat healthy food, such as green vegetables, fresh foods, fruit juices, cereals, oats, skimmed milk, etc. Avoid sugar oily and spicy foods, junk foods, and other high-calorie diet, as these give rise to obesity and are not good for health. For more suggestion consult an expert in this field.

[TolerantLactose]

16, 5'11, 150 lbs.

What can you normally squat?

[Athens2302]

What can you normally squat?

My best is 120 lbs.

[TolerantLactose]

My best is 120 lbs.

That's not very good. I would expect an untrained male that is not overweight to be able to squat at least body weight.

I would suggest that what you feel as a bad workout is simply more a case where you're unaccustomed to resistance training, both in terms of physical condition and experience to interpreting your body's responses.