Abdominal Pouch

[luv2bhealthy]

Cathe,

I just read that doing crunches or sit-ups can give you an abdominal pouch, and it is the worst thing to do if you want a lean, flat belly. Reason: Although sit-ups and crunches strengthen the rectus abdominus muscle, they also lengthen the transverse abdominus (girdle) muscles, causing the lower abdominals to pouch. Plus, they can push your head out of alignment and cause tension in the shoulders and damage the spine. Now, if all this is true, why is everyone still doing crunches? I did notice this morning when doing your All Step tape that when I did the abdominal work, my lower abs did pooch up. Now, granted, I have had 2 children and those lower abs have that pouch, but no matter how much I tightened my abs and breathed, the lower part of my abs pushed outward. Do some of us need to do different ab work than the traditional stuff? I like planks, leg lowers, abs on stability ball, bicycling, etc. Any comments on this subject would be great!!! Thank you.

 

[Connie1]

Hi L2BH!

While you wait for Cathe to answer, read from more sources! And check out Cathe's other ab routines. And, her abs (hard to miss!)

Fitness literature at first seems contradictory, but the more you read, the more you grasp basic principles you can use to accomplish your own ends.

Appearance goals and performance goals are related! (Thank God for that, because I admit I am more motivated by appearance, even though I end up being more gratified by my improved strength and abilities!)

-Connie

 

[Jcrew3082]

Hi luv2bhealthy,

IMHO, crunches, and all of the variations on crunches, are great for strengthening abdominal muscles ****if they are done correctly. I think many people, in an attempt to lift higher or farther, yank on their neck and head, thereby increasing the possibility of injury to that area.

When doing crunches, I usually try to follow the Pilates method of pulling your core in. This really helps prevent my stomach puffing out when I crunch. My guess is that stretching the transverse abdominus does not cause a pooch. I'm not sure that crunching actually stretches that area. After most exercises, we stretch, and this doesn't cause problems in other areas. I've seen this ab machine thing on infomercials lately. It is almost like a lounge chair, and the hosts say it is great because it allows you to move beyond 180 degrees. While I'm not sure how effective the machine is, it definitely stretches the transverse abdominus, and the hosts said this was beneficial.

Recently I was watching a presentation for the Total Gym on QVC. An instructor named Rosalie Brown was talking about the obliques being responsible for the pooch, not the lower abs. I thought that was interesting, and it was definitely the first I've heard of the theory. Has anyone else heard about this?

Hope that helps!
Gina

 

[futurefitnessdyanmo]

When I used to take aerobics classes, they always talked about the breathing being responsible for pooch. The instructors always said to really make sure you breathe out when you crunch and breathe in during release, and that if you breathe in when you crunch you'll create a pooch. Also, I've noticed that if I really concentrate on sucking my navel to my spine (which is hard, sometimes its easier to inflate my stomach on the crunch to gain momentum) I notice the results of ab work more quickly. Has anyone else heard about the role of breathing?

 

[luv2bhealthy]

Thanks! I actually just did the Muscle Endurance Tape, and the abs were fabulous. I loved the tape, and the ab routine was exactly what I like to do. I do know that you are suppose to draw the navel to the spine. That can be hard to do when the navel won't go to the spine!!! :7