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meems
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05 Apr 2012, 11:25 pm

And it's not like sit-ups and crunches were going to lead to great abs anyway. What are some good exercises for abs other than sit-ups/crunches?



SC_2010
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05 Apr 2012, 11:55 pm

Honestly, a plank works magic. Hold it for longer and longer amounts of time.

To get obliques, you can do side dips. Use a step or something 10-15 inches off the ground and stack your feet. balance on your side, using your forearm closest to the ground to support you. Put your other hand behind your head. Dip your hip til it touches the ground and back up again, for 1 rep. I do 15 then switch sides. I do 3 sets.

You can also do dumbell side dips:
To make this exercise as effective as possible try to get a large range of motion. Exaggerate the height of your movements up and down.

Hold a weight in one of your hands.
Bend your body whilst lowering the weight closer to the floor.
Go as far as you can.
Now bend the opposite way and lift the weight as high as you can.
Repeat and then swap sides.



auntblabby
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06 Apr 2012, 12:05 am

combine chinups with leg-lefts, you will kill two birds with one stone that way.



snapcap
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06 Apr 2012, 1:08 am

Try staying in the position like you're about to do a pushup(plank), with arms fully extended. Keep this position as long as you can.

Or sit on your side and do an oblique v-up

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXa8d5kYqAI[/youtube]


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Wolfheart
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06 Apr 2012, 1:38 am

I agree, the best bet for you is to do a static plank.

There are some abdominal exercises you can do whilst keeping the tail bone static such as Bicycles and In and outs but to be honest, you're injured, the best bet you can do is rest until you're ready to take on some abdominal exercises.

Definitely check this out and try some of the exercises in this video too, I'm sure you'll be able to put together an core workout that doesn't require that tail bone to be dynamic.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsFfWDgCNdI[/youtube]



auntblabby
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06 Apr 2012, 1:48 am

that guy is hellafit :o



Alexender
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06 Apr 2012, 1:50 am

SC_2010 wrote:
Honestly, a plank works magic. Hold it for longer and longer amounts of time.

To get obliques, you can do side dips. Use a step or something 10-15 inches off the ground and stack your feet. balance on your side, using your forearm closest to the ground to support you. Put your other hand behind your head. Dip your hip til it touches the ground and back up again, for 1 rep. I do 15 then switch sides. I do 3 sets.


Didn't know it was called planking but I am pretty sure that is what I was thinking of.


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meems
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06 Apr 2012, 2:50 am

I feel like I haven't worked out in ages(because I haven't) so it's not all coming back to me at once, but this is incredibly helpful. I'll try planks for now, I'm sure once the pain is less severe I'll reference this thread.

I'll try to get to a computer so I can watch the video(I'm posting from my mobile) but one thing I probably should've mentioned is that I'm ridiculously weak, I can hardly lift a 20lb object. I guess I'm just self conscious about swimming this summer and I want to start working on looking better when I should be focusing on basic stuff and building my strength back up.

Thanks for all of the advice.



1000Knives
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06 Apr 2012, 8:25 am

Well for most people, abs and seeing them is dependent on bodyfat, so just a heads up, you can't really spot reduce. You probably already know that, though.

Anyway, if you got access to a barbell, deadlifts, cleans/clean and jerks, and snatches will really build your abs, actually. It won't be mega instant results, but they'll definitely get the abs stronger. Before I started doing those lifts, I'd be struggling to get situps done on the incline, like I could barely pop out 10, now 20+ seems like not a big deal. The reason those barbell exercises really help the abs is that the abs have to work isometrically to keep your core stable. I also like these too, as they give you a strong back, which is really important.