Abs and biceps

Zozo

Zozo

Cathlete
Okay, so I have a question.. and a mini moan too :eek:
My question is: How often does anyone train their abs. I normally do about 15 minutes a day, at the end of my workout.. but I know that rest is important. Is doing it as I do counterproductive? :(

My moan is about my biceps. I can lift similar weights to cathe on all exercises, except bicep! (and a few shoulder). And I don't mean just a little less, I mean like tonnes less! The max I can do is 25 pound barbell concentration curls, and only 6 reps. Then I start swinging.. and yeh.. it's not good. I really have very little strength, or definition, in my biceps. I do two total body strength workouts a week, one just upper body, and the rest cardio (I workout every day.. I don't know whether that's good or not). I don't understand it :'( It's kinda frustrating. I just want definition! Does anyone else struggle with this??
 
I hardly ever work my abs- hate ab work. My abs aren't bad though so I don't worry too much about it.

As far as working the biceps. What rotation are you doing? Don't worry about what Cathe or others are lifting. Focus on what you can do. Eating is important as well. For hypertrophy (bigger muscles) you have to eat a bit more. It's tricky, but you can not (usually) be in calorie deficit for weight loss and make big gains in strength and size. There are some exceptions to that, but most would fall under that rule.

Honestly, and I don't want to sound like a sales pitch, but I think STS would be good for you. Doing the 1 RM helps you pick the weight you need to be working with (well most of the time) and the way the program is set up you can accomplish your goal of adding strength and definition. It just takes time though. I've mumbled on far to much and probably need more coffee. Hope this helped even a little.
 
Thank you :) I did wonder whether my diet could probably be the problem.. eating more always scares me though!

As far as the STS is concerned.. I am thinking of saving up for it. I have read sooo many reviews and things about it, and have been really impressed with it. the clips I have seen look wonderful too. Thank you for the recommendation, I will definitely start saving. :)
 
What workouts do you have?

Do you use DB's? I find I can pump out more reps with DB's than a BB and can concentrate on one arm at a time.

I also have the Pace weights so can add a couple lbs at a time if needed to increase my strength.

Yes, STS created a lot of strength gains for me. I recently realized I needed to be eating more though. ITA it is scary to eat more for fear of gaining, but if you can eat some protein and carbs before and after your weight workouts that is probably all you would need to do. Usually a couple hundred cals is all. Not necessarily add to every/snack or add the # of times you eat and not necessary for cardio workouts.

I'm no expert here - just read articles and the forums.

Hopefully others will chime in . . .

Oh yea - for the abs - typically 15 - 20 min. 3 times per week is what I've read since they too need to recover.
 
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For abs - I can get away with 7-10 minutes 3-4 times a week but sometimes, I do way less, like lately! For a while, I hit them hard and then daily before a beach vacation. Really saw improvements in their strength and appearance. Now, I do some ab work and other work that involves abs so I have slacked and it is time to hit it again :) I am one who loves Ab Hits (the old combo DVD), I love Oxygen magazine routines and have a few faves from there, one of which I can email you and you would only need to do this 2-3 times a week and wow - you will be amazed. I also love SJP abs. It is only the shorter ab workouts (7-10 min) that I would do on a daily basis, and only daily for a short period of time.

For biceps - I improved greatly following Debbie's (fitnessfreak) rotations from a while back. She combined some great DVDs that pushed me more than I normally would have pushed myself. I did maybe Nov-Jan of her rotations, then did STS.
 
Ab Hits

Still my favorite too. They say that doing abs a lot won't make your stomach flat, that it's diet too. So, where I used to work them for like 30 minutes 5 times a day, I don't anymore. But I'll tell you what - I can't do what I used to do. I can barely get through a 7 - 9 minute ab workout! I may start incorporating one session a day. But to be honest, I don't see any difference, I have a flabby stomach either way.
 
Barb - yep, a lot of it is diet. But, once you get that down and melt off the layer of fat, it is nice to see the abs showing! And not just that, but eating right day to day. Amazing how an off day can make it all disappear, only to reappear a couple of days later when I get my eating reigned back in, and drink plenty of water.
 
I hope this help!!

For biceps what a can tell, at least for my self some times I don't pay attention to the form, you have to use your abdominal, tide your stomach and your stand will help, don't lock your knees. and breath exhale when the barbell come up to your shoulders .And practice, maybe a day when you are not doing biceps you can really, really think what and how are you doing. Because when we are working out, you know chest ,triceps and bicep, by the time you got to biceps you are all ready tired for everything you did before. Its really true when you think with the muscle you are using you can get a lot better.
For abs 3 times a week 15-20 min.

Good luck..and keep working...

Eunice:)
 
Thank you! That helps alot. I do find the barbell so much more difficult than the dumbells. I have tried doing biceps on one of my cardio days, and did see a bit of improvement. I guess I'll just have to be patient. Although, the comment about food is what I had started to dicover myself. I have begun to track my protein a bit more, and I think I really do need to up my intake. I can't eat red meat, pork, or any meat but chicken due to a sensitive stomach. So I struggle to get enough protein in my diet. I will definitely try and eat more following a workout. Thank you for the help! To bigger biceps ;)
 
I work abs twice a week, always with weights. I stopped doing abs every day or every other day after I took a class (educational, not fitness ;)) that taught you should train abs like any other muscle, meaning lower reps, high weight, 1-2 times a week. I def. saw much better results when I stopped overtraining the muscles & added in the weights.

Re. your biceps, I have what I call "add ins" with every w/o where I throw in 6 sets for my weaker bodyparts, low reps (usually 6, no more than 8) as heavy as I can go. It's helped quite a bit.
 
Zozo said:
Thank you! That helps alot. I do find the barbell so much more difficult than the dumbells. I have tried doing biceps on one of my cardio days, and did see a bit of improvement. I guess I'll just have to be patient. Although, the comment about food is what I had started to dicover myself. I have begun to track my protein a bit more, and I think I really do need to up my intake. I can't eat red meat, pork, or any meat but chicken due to a sensitive stomach. So I struggle to get enough protein in my diet. I will definitely try and eat more following a workout. Thank you for the help! To bigger biceps ;)
Click to expand...

A protein source that I rely on is ground turkey. I buy the ground turkey breast between 97% and 99% fat free, depending on the brand (which I am picky about.) You can cook it plain or add seasonings, as you see fit, or mix it with other stuff, depending on how you are feeling. Often, I will eat it plain and put it in a high protein wrap with some spinach and bell pepper. Just a thought of something you could add that shouldn't upset your tummy.
 
I like Laura Max's idea of the add ins. I do my abs with my yoga 1x a week and 1x a week with a circuit workout.

Biceps- well, I think anybody who can lift 25# is not a weakling. You do have strength there. If you want to lift more be sure to have an extra 15-30 minutes a week spent on lifting heavy for that body part.

I hope that helps. I tend to put on muscle but I also put on the pudge so I have muscles but you just can't see them. Do you want to just slim down some so you can see those 25# lifting biceps bulge? Sometimes its there and we can't see it because of the softness on top.

Alisha
 
I've heard that your abs recover very quickly and you can train them often. I used to do them daily too when I was a lot younger, but only do them a couple of times a week now. I need to do them more often.. But as someone else mentioned above, it's the diet that gives you the six-pack, not the crunches.

Laura-I love the idea of training the abs with heavy weights. I need to try that!
 
abs

I second the motion for Oxegen abs. Once I started doing some of those routines I made huge gains in core strength. I do abs 3x per week unless I do a really hard routine, then my 3rd session is light. I don't do abs as an add on anymore. I do abs just as seriously as any other body part and work on doing 3-4 exercises for 3 - 4 sets of 25 -30. That's what works for me.

As for biceps, I hate working them, but I do. I made equal strength gains with STS and P90X. I do second the notion that back strength is involved to stabilize.

Tracy
 
Thank everyone!

Thanks for the wonderful suggestions. I love the idea of heavy weight training for my abs. I always do Amy Bento's weight routines, but I haven't been seeing much of an improvement doing it daily. So i think I will try and rest my muscles a bit more.

As for the biceps, I love the idea of the add ins, and will try that for the next couple of weeks. I appreciuate that sometimes the soft stuff on top hides the muscle :eek::) but I am a size 6-8 (english sizes.. errm.. is that a 2-4 in America? I don't know.. anyway) so although I know my arms are my least toned area, I feel that it is actually lack of muscle, rather than not being able to see it, that is my problem. (unfortunatley :()

Thank you all for the advice :)
 
it is so interesting that on some exercises I can lift more that Cathe and on some far less. She is far ahead on curls-- especially on the Pyramid Upepr DVD.
 
As far as abs, I've heard all kinds of theories... what's worked best for me is 3-4x/week doing various things.... planks one day, weighted work the next and then maybe a day w/ the stability ball, etc. I usually will do 3 different exercises on the days I work abs.. something that focuses on each part of the core: lower, obliques, mid/upper.

One exercise that I've been doing that I really have noticed has improved my lower abs are hanging leg raises.. That is where you hang off off a pullup bar and raise your knees or legs up to your chest.. The goal is to keep yourself as still as possible no swinging. They are hard but effective.

And of course, like everybody else who has posted, diet for me is the key too!

Biceps...grrrr. that is my weakest body part too. Working w/ dumbbells has helped quite a bit.. better range of motion IMHO. Another thing that really helped me define and grow my bis was chin ups ( palms facing in) and pullups where your hands are in a hammer position as you pull yourself up. Even though bis are secondary as far as the muscle group used in pullup exercises, they really have made a difference in shaping mine nicely.

Take care, Lynn M.
 
LauraMax said:
I work abs twice a week, always with weights. I stopped doing abs every day or every other day after I took a class (educational, not fitness ;)) that taught you should train abs like any other muscle, meaning lower reps, high weight, 1-2 times a week. I def. saw much better results when I stopped overtraining the muscles & added in the weights.

Re. your biceps, I have what I call "add ins" with every w/o where I throw in 6 sets for my weaker bodyparts, low reps (usually 6, no more than 8) as heavy as I can go. It's helped quite a bit.
Click to expand...

Hi Laura,
what kind of routine do you have for abs? Can you give an example or how many set of what you do? That would be so nice.;)
Thanks







COUNTING DAYS:D
6 more weeks until my DH get back home.
Eunice;)
 
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