Run-Down Forums

[mjsbossman]

Dan, I just want to ask...Do you think the Torso Track or one of those ab machines will work out the abs? I believe that it works, because one time, I used the Torso Track at my Aunt's house, and I only did about 5 reps then quit, and the next day all of my abs were sore! But, if you use the Torso Track over and over, would your body adapt? I was thinking of getting the Torso Track(that machine that Suzzane Sommers is on on TV) and maybe the Torso Tiger, the machine that you sit on, so that I have 2 different machines.

I hate doing crunches and reverse crunches, I just want an easy excersise to get my abs done fast without having to worry about form. I know I don't do reverse crunces correctly because my abs don't burn even after 30 reps.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'MJSbosman']

[Dan]

I've never used one of those machines, but I suspect they are just another way of doing pretty much the same exercise. They may do just enough different to work different muscle groups, in which case they could be worthwhile. You're probably right that varying the workouts is the key to avoiding adpating to the exercises.

I don't know what your crunches form is like, but most people either do them with their feet on the floor, on the floor and braced, or off the ground but legs tucked in close to their stomach. These are all ways of cheating the exercise, as your abs are pretty much relaxed for 75% of the range. To get the fullest benefit, keep your lower legs level with the ground and your upper legs slightly less than a 90 degree angle to the ground (measured from the direction of your feet).

Dan

[mjsbossman]

Alright Dan, I'll try that next time I do some crunches. But I havn't been lifting weights or doing crunches for a few months. After CC is over, I will begin lifting weights and doing some ab work. I think that I will get the Torso Track, but I will also do crunches and leg lifts so that I don't adapt. I could also do crunches and other ab exercises, THEN do the Torso track right after, or vice versa, which would attack my abs.

[Guest]

getting a 6 pack has way more to do with diet than exercise. You've got to drastically cut down on all fat intake by eating only plain tuna, chicken breast, salads w/ no fat dressing, veggie burgers, water, and vitamins for 3 to 6 months. It's very hard and kind of dangerous to do for too long.

[Guest]

Hey Dan,
I'm a basketball player and i'm 14 years old and everyone else i know has a 6-pac.I really want one. I'm not fat but i just don't know how to get one. Can you tell me what exercises i should do and how many times a week. And please explain what the terms mean like crunches and that. ???

[Dan]

Crunches are basically mini situps, keeping tension through the stomach (going up all the way to your knees relaxes the stomach for most of the movement) and lifting your shoulder blades off the floor slightly with each repetition.

I'm not entirely sure it's possible to achieve a "6-pack" if it isn't in your genetic makeup. There are very skinny people with no muscular definition in their abs and fairly flabby folks who have the washboard look -- body fat doesn't really appear to be the defining factor, nor does muscle volume by itself. I think it's a combination of factors, and I don't know what the exact formula is to get there. Obviously diet (low fat), ab strength work, and high volume of exercise, but many people can do such things religiously and gain tone elsewhere in their bodies but simply look thinner through the waist.

Dan

[Indeurr]

I agree with Dan. I am 6 feet tall, but my ideal weight is 190-194 (off the diet-industry-sponsored BMI charts-I am 240 right now ). The only way I could get the six-pack look was by starving myself to 188, and feeling like I was going to pass out any second. After couple attempts, wisely, I gave up.

[Indeurr]

It is better to be a healthy and strong person without "a six-pack..."

[Shaun Fox]

i have a six pac but i think its natural its always been there i havnt had to change my diet or excercise in any specific way.

[training2run]

Sit-ups are about the simplist exercise you can do. The machines are designed to suck the money out of your pocket, not the fat off your gut.

While sit-ups (of various kinds) will strengthen the muscles of the mid-section, they will not (of themselves) make the muscles defined.

Once you have the muscles, to make them apparent, you have to reduce subcutaneous fat. You can reduce the fat through a combination of diet (reduce the intake of fats, oils and baked goods) and LSD running. Mike www.training2run.com