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Help me do proper crunches(and general fitness advice)
Klein
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have recently started working out and I need some advice on doing crunches. I am having issues doing crunches without raising my legs or if I put my feet under furniture, without lifting my feet and pushing on the furniture, and I know this isn't how crunches are done. Any advice or any other workouts to strengthen my core?
As for my other workouts, I am running and walking a bit every day and I am doing the 100 push up challenge. I am about 6 feet tall and weigh about 190 pounds. I would say I am out of shape but not fat by any means, but I know I can lose a few pounds. I plan on spending the rest of Summer working out to be in better shape next year.
As for my diet I have cut all soda and other beverages besides water with powdered Gatorade. Need to work on eating healthier, I don't eat any candy or sugary foods, but I need to cook better, so any advice there would also help.
I do have access to a gym, so any advice on workouts there would be appreciated. My goal is to lose a few pounds of fat and put on some muscle weight.
As for my other workouts, I am running and walking a bit every day and I am doing the 100 push up challenge. I am about 6 feet tall and weigh about 190 pounds. I would say I am out of shape but not fat by any means, but I know I can lose a few pounds. I plan on spending the rest of Summer working out to be in better shape next year.
As for my diet I have cut all soda and other beverages besides water with powdered Gatorade. Need to work on eating healthier, I don't eat any candy or sugary foods, but I need to cook better, so any advice there would also help.
I do have access to a gym, so any advice on workouts there would be appreciated. My goal is to lose a few pounds of fat and put on some muscle weight.
Klein on
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If you're having trouble keeping your feet down, that's an option until you get more accustomed. What I'm doing right now for my ab workout is:
3 sets of 15 reps: Weighted ab crunch - What I usually do for this is use a tricep pulldown machine and pull downwards in a sit-up fashion, except I'm kneeling instead of laying on my back
3 sets of 15 reps to each side: Curls aimed at each oblique on the decline bench shown above (I hold a medicine ball, you may or may not need the added weight yet)
3 sets of 15 reps: Leg raises while holding myself up on a dip machine, something like this:
3 sets of 15 reps to each side: Ab twists like this -
I do this every other day - I can definitely feel it the day after. Give it a try and see how you like it
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
the bench press, the squat, and the row on day one; the press, the squat and the dead lift on day two. Allow one day of rest between them, and take two days off after three workouts (IE mon, wed, fri). Do them in five sets of five, except the deadlifts, of which you do one set of five. Start with very low weight, focus on form, and work up by adding five pounds a week. Do them with free weights. Not machines. Especially not smith machines. DO NOT SQUAT IN A SMITH RACK EVER. If you want to do more, you can do cardio everyday, bodyweight training (situps, pushups, dips, chinups) on off days. This is the old, original "starting strength" program, and it does wonders. These are classic weightroom excercises - they do a lot more, but take a lot more technique than isolation excercises (such as curls, flys, leg presses)...so you have to learn the form of the exercises well, but if you invest the time into learning to do them right, you'll be golden and you'll be stronger than people who spend twice as much time in the gym
I host a podcast about movies.
For crunches, you're not going to be bringing your back off the floor. If your back comes off the ground and you find yourself sitting in an upright position at any point, that's a situp. In fact, you should focus on keeping your back (especially lower back) flat on the ground as you go up, using your abs to bring your shoulders off the ground. A good way to check yourself is to lay your arms down by your sides with palms to the floor, and set a target about six inches away from your fingertips. The crunch is complete when you bring your fingertips to the target by flexing your upper abs. When you're doing them right, you'll feel it in your upper abdominals, right below your solar plexus.
Lift your legs up off the floor (bent knees, usually 90 degree angles). Cross your arms so your hands are on the opposite shoulder. Now, forget about your abs and push your back into the floor as hard as you can. Your upper and lower body will lift naturally. Hold for 1-3 seconds, repeat.
Don't know your level of fitness, but for me that's all that I needed - long, intense cardio outdoors. And I swear that the more I exercise the less of an appetite I have. Do you have access to any rural trails? I live next to mountains so I'm pretty lucky.
As regards ab workouts - bicycle crunch or exercise ball. Bicycle crunch doesn't kill the lower back and it provides a balanced workout.
But, if your looking for sexy abs, running will be your best bet imo. I've always had killer abs and I rarely do ab works, it's just from running.
It's from the 80's but it's still effective. He explains how to do each move, which you should continue to do on your own for longer sets once you feel like you can do them properly on your own. You might choose to alternate the different types of crunches every other day or so.
The music in the background is cheesy but it honestly helped me to get into a good rhythm. Good luck!
Basically, you lie flat on your back and your partner stands at your head, facing towards your feet. You grip the back of your partner's legs without using your thumbs (think underhand chin-up grip, basically). Then, raise your legs with slightly bent knees. Your partner then will shove your legs back down when you've got them raised high enough for him to reach. Your job is to provide enough resistance such that your heels never touch the ground. Partner can push your legs to either side or straight back down to work different muscles.
I have no idea if these are safe to do, but I never felt anything but ridiculous burn in my abs, hips, and whatever muscle group is right around the love handle region.
Yeah, I agree. As an alternative, I put my hands on my chest, and chrunch that way. It makes things a little more difficult, but safer.
You can also hold your arms out straight, parallel to the ground.
Start with the "pre-train" recommendation. Just keep in mind it's not about pushing through excruciating pain, it's about consistency and not having a lapse in dedication. Enjoy the experience, keep it light until you feel comfortable pushing things to the next level. I think coolrunning offers some great training guides, for free too.
Word. Haha, or start boxing. Who's counting brain cells, anyway? You might say, "Lots of researchers." But those researchers are just jealous.
When I run I am experiencing shin splints. I am stretching before I run and work out (20 seconds per stretch minimum, longer if I still feel tense). Any advice? After about a mile it starts to kick in and hurt. Any advice?
Here's my anecdotal experience: I ran cross-country, and remained a pretty active runner after high school, but I was in a constant state of having shin splints. 2 years ago I got Vibram 5-finger shoes and I have never had shin splints again. In fact I STILL run in the same pair! I can just cruise for an hour or more and have no pain from it. Traditional running shoes fucking suck, I'll go ahead and say it.
Downside - they're pricey, but no more than some fancy-yet-totally-useless high end running shoe. Also, it can take like 6 weeks for your feet to adjust to being "barefoot."
I'm serious, it was like magic for me. I'd tried out different brands and different shoes - saucony, asics, etc. It's all marketing bullshit, none of their shoes make a goddam difference. Less is definitely more in this case. I'd stop short of saying it's better to go barefoot, because there've been numerous times where I've been on a trail and a thorn goes right through the sole of my Vibrams and barely punctures the skin. And the Vibrams are made of tough rubber.
If you do get some, make sure that they're designed for running rather than for walking, because the soles have to be more durable. 10-20 minute stretching before a run and I've never had problems since I made the switch.
Work on your form and changing up the shoes is pretty much all you can do, I think.