Frequency of Abs Exercises

[willpower]

Just got one of those Swiss exercise balls (the big beach ball thing) and have been doing crunches on it. Much easier on the lower back and my abs were really burning.

 

[The King of Teeth]

Originally Posted by BBSLM

you can actually eat carbs until about 3:45pm GMT, but remember - they have to be clean carbs. The best way to ensure your carbs are clean is to bathe with them. This method is also good for cleaning your fats.
I actually prefer a dishwasher to clean my carbs. More efficient. Id agree with the other poster- where does SF find you people.

Probably a bunch of fatties eating twinkies hiding behind a computer giving advice. Good carbs- veggies, fruits, brown rice, whole wheat pasta - any type of whole grains or all wheat bread Bad carbs- white bread, white pasta, cookies, cupcakes etc - anything with enriched flour Eat your carbs early in the day so that your body can process them and use them for energy instead of storing them as fat. Decrease your carb intake as the day goes on and increase your protein intake as the day goes on. Dont eat late- let your body fast and use that protein for fuel to run itself. To the op- good luck.

 

[speedy4500]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

Squats w/ belt, pullups, and overhead lifts have been all Ive ever needed to build some pretty strong abs.

Im sure ab-wheel, weighted situps and leg-raises would all be good, but I just can't be assed to do them.

+1. Deadlifts, deep DEEP squats, and olympic lifts at heavy weights will work your abs a ton. I throw in some dragon flags for fun. Now I've even got a six pack on my back, without trying or caring about getting to really low bodyfat.

Plus by doing deadlifts, squats, and oly lifts, you won't look like such a huge ***** as doing 30 minutes of ball crunches, torso twirls, knee knockers or whatever other ***** exercises you can think up.

 

[BBSLM]

Originally Posted by The King of Teeth

I actually prefer a dishwasher to clean my carbs. More efficient. Id agree with the other poster- where does SF find you people.

Probably a bunch of fatties eating twinkies hiding behind a computer giving advice. Good carbs- veggies, fruits, brown rice, whole wheat pasta - any type of whole grains or all wheat bread Bad carbs- white bread, white pasta, cookies, cupcakes etc - anything with enriched flour Eat your carbs early in the day so that your body can process them and use them for energy instead of storing them as fat. Decrease your carb intake as the day goes on and increase your protein intake as the day goes on. Dont eat late- let your body fast and use that protein for fuel to run itself. To the op- good luck.
Ignoring the fact that this is demonstrably incorrect, explain to me how someone on a hypocaloric or maintenance diet would gain weight, much less fat, by eating carbs at night? what if someone trains at night; is it still bad for them to eat at night? did the one Men's Health article you read before you became a nutritional guru not go into that much detail?

 

[chet31]

Originally Posted by willpower

Well, the argument is that abs have a faster recovery time than other muscles, hence the opportunity (ugh) to do them daily. I don't know if that's actually the case, hence the reason I started the thread.

Layne Norton of bodybuilding.com says you should not work your abs every day, and that one intense abs work-out per week is sufficient.

The P-90X people in their Ab Ripper video indicate you should not do the work-out every day, though they do not specify how often you should do it.

Every article I have seen written by fitness professionals say abs are not different from other muscles and need recovery time. The "work the abs every day" camp seems to consist of "my friend's trainer told him ..." anecdotal stuff. I side with the former.

 

[The King of Teeth]

Originally Posted by BBSLM

Ignoring the fact that this is demonstrably incorrect, explain to me how someone on a hypocaloric or maintenance diet would gain weight, much less fat, by eating carbs at night? what if someone trains at night; is it still bad for them to eat at night? did the one Men's Health article you read before you became a nutritional guru not go into that much detail?



Nah Brah!!My mens health subscription ran out last daylight savings time. But lucky for you the google subscription is still quite active.

You wanna eat carbs late- by all means do. If you want to increase fat loss and minimize fat accumulation, decrease or taper carbs as the day goes on. enjoy your weekend.




"Should I not eat carbs late at night? Eating carbohydrates at night can, under certain circumstances, cause you to store the calories as fat. Another reason to avoid or lower your carbohydrate intake late at night, when trying to get cut, is to harness the body's output of growth hormone (GH), which is released at night within the first 90 minutes of deep sleep. GH is beneficial if you wish to shed fat and hold muscle, because it initiates a moderate shifting of fuel sources so the body burns more ***** acids at rest at the expense of burning less glycogen and body protein. Taking advantage of your body's GH output results in additional fat loss without a loss in muscle. Carbs consumed before you head off to bed can blunt the body's natural release of growth hormone, since GH is released more readily when blood-sugar levels are low. That's why some bodybuilders try to avoid carbohydrates later in the day."



http://www.shapefit.com/late-night-snacking.html

THE PROBLEM WITH CARBS
One of the issues with eating carbs at night has to do with insulin. As the day progresses, your insulin levels are less sensitive which means you have an easier time converting carbohydrates into fat stores. Later at night, your body is winding down from a long day and you usually kick back and cuddle into the couch for a night of TV watching. Your body is basically sedentary and little energy is being used. Couple this with a nice big bag of popcorn, a bowl of fruit or some tortilla chips and the combination is the perfect storm for packing on a roll of fat around your midsection similar to the Goodyear man.

 

[BBSLM]

Originally Posted by The King of Teeth

Nah Brah!!My mens health subscription ran out last daylight savings time. But lucky for you the google subscription is still quite active. You wanna eat carbs late- by all means do. If you want to increase fat loss and minimize fat accumulation, decrease or taper carbs as the day goes on. enjoy your weekend. "Should I not eat carbs late at night? Eating carbohydrates at night can, under certain circumstances, cause you to store the calories as fat. Another reason to avoid or lower your carbohydrate intake late at night, when trying to get cut, is to harness the body's output of growth hormone (GH), which is released at night within the first 90 minutes of deep sleep. GH is beneficial if you wish to shed fat and hold muscle, because it initiates a moderate shifting of fuel sources so the body burns more ***** acids at rest at the expense of burning less glycogen and body protein. Taking advantage of your body's GH output results in additional fat loss without a loss in muscle. Carbs consumed before you head off to bed can blunt the body's natural release of growth hormone, since GH is released more readily when blood-sugar levels are low. That's why some bodybuilders try to avoid carbohydrates later in the day." http://www.shapefit.com/late-night-snacking.html THE PROBLEM WITH CARBS One of the issues with eating carbs at night has to do with insulin. As the day progresses, your insulin levels are less sensitive which means you have an easier time converting carbohydrates into fat stores. Later at night, your body is winding down from a long day and you usually kick back and cuddle into the couch for a night of TV watching. Your body is basically sedentary and little energy is being used. Couple this with a nice big bag of popcorn, a bowl of fruit or some tortilla chips and the combination is the perfect storm for packing on a roll of fat around your midsection similar to the Goodyear man.
i dont know why im wasting my time, as i'm sure i'm being trolled, but 1) you didnt answer my direct question (big surprise) 2) you can't cite as a legitimate source some spammy, affiliate marketing adword site. i mean technically, yes, you can cite it, but doing so shows how clueless and ignorant you are. the idea that carbs at night leads to fatloss is laughably bunk. even the original pushers of this idea have either abandoned it outright, or clarified that it was meant to be used as a method of control to keep people from binging on ice cream and cookies in front of the tv at night. nobody even takes this idea seriously anymore. *** http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17909674

Muslims abstain from food and fluid between the hours of sunrise to sunset, and usually eat a large meal after sunset and a lighter meal before sunrise. The purpose of this study was to assess body composition, nutrient intake and physical activity patterns during Ramadan fasting. This study revealed that there was a significant weight loss during Ramadan. Estimates of energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat and sugar did not change, despite the reduction in the number of meals taken. The overall activity patterns remained similar.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9040548

To conclude, ingestion of larger AM meals resulted in slightly greater weight loss, but ingestion of larger PM meals resulted in better maintenance of fat-free mass. Thus, incorporation of larger PM meals in a weight loss regimen may be important in minimizing the loss of fat-free mass.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...t=AbstractPlus

These results show that eating at night is not associated with an increased propensity to gain weight, suggesting that individuals trying to lose weight should not rely on decreasing evening calorie intake as a primary strategy for promoting weight loss.

^ yes this is an animal study, but monkeys are more metabolically similar to humans than are rodents. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...t=AbstractPlus

CONCLUSION: Eating ready-to-eat cereal after the evening meal may attenuate caloric intake in night snackers and promote weight loss in compliant individuals.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0202080832.htm

Scientists Dispel Late-Night Eating/Weight Gain Myth

^explains the monkey study smh. even the mainstream media is more aware of current research than you. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/257262...-today_health/

Myth: Eating late at night is bad With today’s crazy schedules, people often do not get a chance to eat until 7 or 8 p.m.. It's a myth that the food stays in your stomach all night and then turns immediately to fat. Your body does not turn off when you go to bed. There is no magic time of day that your body starts storing fat and stops digesting food. Gaining weight happens because over time you eat more calories than you expend. The hazards of late-night eating include being starving by the time you eat dinner and overeating, and if you eat a big meal before you go to bed it may interfere with your sleep. So if you are time-challenged and must have late suppers, eat light at night.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=117532931

Originally Posted by Wolf-Baron

I eat carbs before bed for the past 8months. Don't really think that eating carbs is such a bad thing :l

Originally Posted by Jeclavad

My biggest meal is dinner (1H before going to bed). e.g. yesterday I ate: PWO (7.30 pm) ~ 250 cal (oats/banana/milk) dinner (8.30 pm) ~ 900 cal (chicken/Bread/oatmeal/veggies/fruits) going to bed (9.45 pm) I don't think I'm fat

(also see avatar) Your body doesn't work on a daily basis but more on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis and depending on your activity level.

Originally Posted by ygbodybuilder10

i eat carbs in all my meals when bulking even 12 mins before bed

^ these are just a handful of thousands of messageboard examples. Martin Berkhan's site is full of dozens of examples of clients who eat the majority of their calories at night while getting to single-digit bodyfat levels. and as an n=1 anecdote, i eat whatever whenever as long as it fits my macros, and i'm at single digit bodyfat year-round.

 

[The King of Teeth]

Dont know why Im wasting my time as well with this but I will leave with this:

The reason you shouldn't do carbs late at night is because they spike insulin, which begins the fat storage and cessation of fat burning. That is NOT a state you want to be in all night as you sleep! Now granted as with anything there will be disagreement but the effect of carbs is pretty well researched.

Having said that Ill concede that you posted some evidence that Ill certainly look at and evaluate but I follow this philosophy when I am cutting down and want my abs to pop- currently at 9% bf myself using this technique. So Im not speaking from anything else except personal experience. I went from 24% bf to 9% - 235 pounds to around 200 pounds over the past year or so

Lots of research either way- couple of citations from pubmed.

Cycling my diet and going through weeks of strict dieting with rounds of normal dieting did the trick. My most significant changes were when I eliminated carbs from my nightly routine. Cutting carbs is not something that you do all the time. You do it in the cutting phase. You cannot sustain a healthy body by completely eliminating carbs. Thats not what I said, nor is it what I do. I said I minimize or eliminate carbs when I want my abs to pop - aka the cutting phase.


Nutr J. 2011 Apr 28;10(1):40. [Epub ahead of print]
Comparison of high protein and high fiber weight-loss diets in women with risk factors for the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial.
Te Morenga LA, Levers MT, Williams SM, Brown RC, Mann J.


Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Oct;19(8):548-54. Epub 2009 Jan 29.
High protein diets decrease total and abdominal fat and improve CVD risk profile in overweight and obese men and women with elevated triacylglycerol.
Clifton PM, Bastiaans K, Keogh JB.


Arch Intern Med. 2006 Feb 13;166(3):285-93.
Effects of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Nordmann AJ, Nordmann A, Briel M, Keller U, Yancy WS Jr, Brehm **, Bucher HC.

 

[resartus]

My take:

1) BBSLM won.
2) Continuing this argument would be gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

 

[BBSLM]

Originally Posted by The King of Teeth

Dont know why Im wasting my time as well with this but I will leave with this: The reason you shouldn't do carbs late at night is because they spike insulin, which begins the fat storage and cessation of fat burning. That is NOT a state you want to be in all night as you sleep! Now granted as with anything there will be disagreement but the effect of carbs is pretty well researched.
This description of insulin is simplified to the point of being useless. I'll ask for a third time, how, if you are in a caloric deficit or eating at maintenance, will your body over time accumulate fat storage by eating carbs at night? Magic?

Lots of research either way- couple of citations from pubmed.

Actually, no. The the evidence is pretty conclusive. Feel free to post anything refuting what I've posted.

Cycling my diet and going through weeks of strict dieting with rounds of normal dieting did the trick. My most significant changes were when I eliminated carbs from my nightly routine. Cutting carbs is not something that you do all the time. You do it in the cutting phase. You cannot sustain a healthy body by completely eliminating carbs. Thats not what I said, nor is it what I do. I said I minimize or eliminate carbs when I want my abs to pop - aka the cutting phase.

So you lose weight by eliminating an entire macronutrient, thereby eating fewer calories. This is new and exciting.

Nutr J. 2011 Apr 28;10(1):40. [Epub ahead of print] Comparison of high protein and high fiber weight-loss diets in women with risk factors for the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial. Te Morenga LA, Levers MT, Williams SM, Brown RC, Mann J. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Oct;19(8):548-54. Epub 2009 Jan 29. High protein diets decrease total and abdominal fat and improve CVD risk profile in overweight and obese men and women with elevated triacylglycerol. Clifton PM, Bastiaans K, Keogh JB. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Feb 13;166(3):285-93. Effects of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nordmann AJ, Nordmann A, Briel M, Keller U, Yancy WS Jr, Brehm **, Bucher HC.

Do you even understand words? None of these are even remotely relevant to this discussion.

Originally Posted by resartus

My take: 1) BBSLM won. 2) Continuing this argument would be gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).
1) only by default 2) i agree

 

[christinedaae]

I don't even do sit ups or crunches anymore, you need to step up to the big league of stomach exercises. I do 3 sets of planks and 5 sets of weighted decline sit ups. Stomach be burning the F up when I am done. Do them about every 3 days.

 

[embowafa]

Originally Posted by resartus

My take:

1) BBSLM won.
2) Continuing this argument would be gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

This.

 

[Georgson]

I do not have a sit-in in the ABS and I said like a rock. Abdominal muscles get a lot of work if you pull up, give, skwa up dead, go stand alone, or seated.

 

[Fraiche]

Did anyone used to not have the vertical line down the abs and eventually got it?

Would like to get some tips.

 

[Benesyed]

I think its important to also ask what you want your abs to look like. The regimen to get the abs of an underwear model is different from a hardcore body builder and is different from a runway model. Having wanted and gotten 2/3 (unless you are very gifted genetically, you are going to need to juice up for those FLEX level abs and I never really got into that) of those at points in my life I can attest to that.

I currently do abs daily with the intent of maintaining moderately sized abs. If that is your goal too i think you will be fine with daily lifts. The bigger impact will be from shaving the fat off.