Body weight Ab Workout

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by brucelee12345, Nov 3, 2013.

  1. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    Hey guys!
    So, should you work abs like 5 times per week? Because Bruce Lee trained them everyday, but some say that training them more than 3 times per week hard will be enough and that any more will be over training? Or is it okay to train abs everyday but do only like 1 giant set and do not push too hard?
    Does this Ab and Back workout look fine?

    Roman Chair Sit-ups-4x20
    Hanging Leg Raise(legs extended)-3x10
    Frog Kicks-4x50(lie on your back and do like a 6-inch hold but then tuck the knees in then push them out and that is 1 rep)
    Leaning Back Waist twists-4x70-90
    Back Extensions-4x50
    Pull-ups-3x12-15
    L-Sit-4 sets of 10-15 seconds
    Sometimes as a substitue, like on light days i might do
    100 sit ups
    100 leg raises(not hanging, but lying on the floor)
    100 waist twists
    Im thinking of preforming this 3 times per week and see if i get any DOMS then if i dont i might increase the number of days i do this(P.S. I always vary my workouts, so this is one I just one of them)
    Thanks for all who relply!!:)
     
  2. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Howdy :)

    I think how often you should train is entirely up to you, what you can fit into your lifestyle and how well your body copes with the stress of the exercises. Personally I find the only "over training" you can do is when you push so much, so hard & so fast you make yourself ill or it negatively affects your every day life heavily.

    If it works for you then I can't see much of a problem behind it. The general "go to" exercise for abs/back/general core strength though has to be the plank. Depending on what you can manage, some guys go to as much as 5 x 90 seconds with a 30 second - 1 minute break in between. Sit ups most people aren't so keen on as it really doesn't do much for the abs.

    Have fun training :)
     
  3. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

  4. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    What are your goals man? Stronger core or "I want abs"?
     
  5. bodyshot

    bodyshot Brown Belt Zanshin Karate

    OK this sounds really hard core to me Im not sure how you manage this to be quit honest lols, but in the end as long as its working for you then I dont guess theres any problem with it.

    Now I would think that you have some other things that you focus on during a work out right like chest and back arms and legs and so on and so fourth. So how are you fitting in all the other stuff as well as the abb rotine?
     
  6. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    I wouldn't worry about overtraining your abdominals unless you're doing weight training with them. Calves, forearms, biceps, and abdominals are muscles that can be trained more often than all the others because of their makeup. It might benefit you to train them 2-3 times a week more intensely though, meaning you still train them 5-6 times a week but 2-3 times a week the workout is harder.
     
  7. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    Chadderz:
    My goal is both, to have a strong core and a 6 pack(which i already have but i want it more cut and defined), but im more focused on a stronger core for martial arts

    bodyshot:
    I do full body workouts:
    I do cardio, martial arts(taekwondo), stretching everyday
    bodyweight exercises(I would do the exercises hard) 3-4 time per week
    weights-1 time per week(not focusing on this too much)
    plyometrics and sprinting 1 time per week(I would do it when I do bodyweight exercises day, but I would do light exercises then move into plyometrics),
    abs and forearms-4-5 times per week
    isometrics-I add those in once in a while
    tricking-3 times per week
    sparring- 2-3 times per week
     
  8. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    Yes, that is what i am doing, like bodyweight and abs 3-4 times per week HARD(one of the days I include plyometrics), then for the rest of the week I do light bodyweight exercsies for warmup,
    Thanks:)
     
  9. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Well for a strong core, any activity involving lots of movement would do. BJJ, tricking, gymnastics is a great one!


    As far as wanting abs, that has not too much to do with actual exercises involving the core, and more to do with body fat percentage. So yeah, lose more fat! ;p
     
  10. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    u callin me fat! nah joking:), I already see a 6 pack i just have to add deefinition so yeah gotta lose tht tiny bit of fat!:)
    Yeah after I trick I always feel my core(abs and back) working, then my legs, i only feel it in my hands and should for when i try like a cheat 720 or a 540, the twisting motion works your core, thx:)
     
  11. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    While Chadderz is absolutely right, you can build a bigger set of abdominals that are more noticeable through the conventional ways of hypertrophy. You just have to start adding weight to various exercises (leg lifts, crunch machine, cable machine crunches, etc.). Heavy squating/deadlifting, and exercises like BW squats with a dumbbell raised overhead are also helpful. Doing stuff like that would be your 2-3 times a week part of your core regimen though.
     
  12. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    yes! in my weight lifting routine, I have Compound exercsies mostly and 1 isolation exercise for the biceps, bicep curls beacuse In punching speed, bringing you hand back fast activated your lats and biceps. I always feel my core working whenever i do the compound exercsies, especially in squat clean and press,,
    So your saying that I should do that with the core workout? or are you saying that the weight lifting routine is already giving my core enough work, so I do not need the core workout or I should preform it only like 1 time per week?
    thx
     
  13. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    To the bolded, yes. Heavy lifting with squats/deadlefts/pullups and a few other things work your core tremendously. The days you do those lifts are the days I would also work the core pretty hard. If you're doing your squats and deadlifting right, you're probably not going to be doing a ton of other exercises that day which leaves some mental fortitude open to do abs with some kind of weight resistance. That'll turn the days you do abs without resistance (weights) into a sort of 'active recovery' day.

    It's all very sciencey, and you would have to have a goal for hypertrophy to maximize results for it which may not be the goal of your training regimen. Hypertrophy centered workouts involve doing sets of 10-12 at a tempo (3 seconds concentric movement, 5 seconds eccentric). It's entirely different than strength training. It just depends on what you're focusing on in the gym.
     
  14. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    O! Thanks,
    I will continue doing the weight lifting routine I am doing and I might do the core workout as above, but with less sets or reps, beacuse of like 1 day where I am working the core hard and 1 day or 2 of light core work.
    My goal is not hypertrophy but strength, speed,explosiveness, power, endurance.I already have greate flexibility so I just want to maintain that
     
  15. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    Sounds good to me man. Big muscles aren't synonymous with performance ability. Taking the time to grow cantaloupe abdominals could very well detract from your goals in a significant way.

    You might be interested in Burpees and all the variations. Great BW exercise for strength, speed, explosiveness, power, and endurance. Also great for the abs.
     
  16. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    Thank you!
    I learned that big muscle are not synonymous with preformance ability, I saw this big guy and a guy 1/2 his size who was strong, they both did competitions(arm wrestle, 100 meter sprint, squats/bench press etc.) The one 1/2 his size won except for one, he was also WAY faster than the big guy in the 100 meter sprint, beacuse he was caring less weight proably, the competition where they saw who had the bigger muscle!:)
     
  17. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    I want to be able to move like [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y1lqwvGcwk"]The Best Of STEVE TERADA - YouTube[/ame]
    steve terada, with the quickness and intensity
     
  18. seiken steve

    seiken steve golden member

    26 Sets for abs?

    That is a mental amount of work to do for the abs man, how long have you kept that up? Is your back and posture okay?

    You may have more success and and be safer choosing few exercises and working harder at them. Quality over quantity as it were.
     
  19. brucelee12345

    brucelee12345 Valued Member

    I think you mean 25 sets
    and i worked up to it plus the abs are very dense muscle group
    i feel fine and i have kept this up for 1 month.
    Also, you have to count the lower and middle back(the back extensions and pullups, even though they do work the abs indirectly) so it would be 18 sets
     
  20. seiken steve

    seiken steve golden member

    It's still a lot though dude, you are putting yourself a pretty high risk of an overuse injury or similar

    18 sets (closer to 20) and you said you hit this 3-5 times a week right?

    So that's somewhere between 54-100 sets a week. That is a lot of exposure to spinal flexion and disk compression.

    I do 2 sets of ab wheel roll outs twice a week, you can call me soft but my 'core' still shifts a 200kg yoke for a couple of hundred meters once or twice a week so I would consider myself worth listening to. That's 4 sets of ab work a week where I don't get exposed to spinal flexion and my abs work in their primary role: stabilising the spine.

    If you'd posted you planned in benching for 18-20 sets 3-5 times a week I'm sure the message would be different, it strikes me as unwise that one would attempt that with their midsection.
     

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