another ab question

[hlao23]

I've heard that if you do ab excercises without holding in your stomach that you will train your abs to be firm, but firm and protruding. Does anyone know if this is true?

[KValley]

hlao23:

If you are breathing correctly when doing crunches, you should exhale on the contraction- the up portion of the sit-up. As a result, your stomach muscles are naturally contracted and holding them in is unnecessary- it's already happening.

Your abdominal muscles should be doing the work of the sit up. If you deliberately focus on making your ab muscles lift you off of the floor, while keeping your lower back stable and glued to the floor when doing crunches (I have to make this a conscious effort, or I get sloppy) they will naturally contract with the effort. It does not need to be a great motion to be effective- I just cringe when I see people doing full sit ups, because those strain the neck and back! It may help to tilt your pelvis in towards your abdominal area slightly when doing crunches, but don't exaggerate this or you will stress your lower back.

Does this make any sense? All things being equal, the little pooch in your tummy is more a matter of genetics and perhaps posture. And it's supposed to be sexy! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
Cheers,

Julie



[This message has been edited by KValley (edited 05-09-2001).]

[KaliforniaKim]

hlao23:

I second Julie's comments. Any pooch is likely to be a result of genetics, not how you hold your abs during a crunch.

I teach aerobics, and alot of people do ab crunches incorrect. The biggest key is breathing (like Julie said), and trying to hold your abs in throughout the exercise.

The biggest benefit of holding your abs in tight throughout the exercise is that it's hard....so you will get results more quickly. In fact, slower and fewer movements with a focus on breathing and keeping your abs tight (even when you release down in a crunch) are going to be better than hundreds of fast crunches. Like Julie, it makes me twitch when I see people doing crunches incorrectly--too fast, yanking their neck, and/or jerking their body all of the way up. Ark!

Several months ago I started focusing my classes on slow ab exercises where everyone is trying to keep their abs tight throughout the entire crunch. Many of my students have commented that they have actually seen improvement in their abs, so it appears to work.

[hlao23]

Thanks much. Most of the time I do okay keeping my muscles contracted. In exercises where I have my feet off the floor I find this very difficult to do (I'm doing Denise A. pilates). I think maybe working at my own pace rather than keeping up with the tape may help that tho'.

Julie - genetics, supposed to be there, part of me realises this. Why don't they quit making stupid swimsuit models suck in their stomachs so the rest of us can relax?!