is there a method for abs?

[getnfit@38]

Hi all,
I've been pondering this question for MONTHS as I lay on the floor like some wounded animal holding my abs!
How do I get myself to get completely through the ab routines? There isn't one Cathe ab routine I can complete without taking breaks (notice the plural on breakS)
I start strong, remain aware of breathing out on the lifts, and I crunch and crunch until I reach a point where my abs are SCREAMING at me, and even then, I try to push a little further on the hope that each time I'll get a little closer to completing the entire routine without stopping, but NEVER, EVER, can I accomplish this! Not with MIS, PowerHour (and that one is the shortest I believe), and not with PS Series.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can build my endurance/strength so I can complete these ab workouts?
Is it a "give it time" thing? Is it a "shut up and suck up the pain and keep going!" thing? WHAT???????
As always, I await your helpful responses
Donna

 

[Aquajock]

RE: Try this position variation

Hi, Donna, O Inspirational One!

Just a suggestion:

For a couple of workouts, believe it or not, try doing your ab routines on an incline bench, with your head at the higher end. (I believe you have a step bench and risers; you can create an incline bench by stacking three risers at one end and the fourth riser at the lower end, then settling the bench accordingly.)

Although placing your trunk in an incline position with your head at the higher end makes curling up the upper trunk, shoulders and head a tad easier, what this position does is isolate the work more in the mid-section where you want the power to come from. This position is also easier on the neck.

And make part of your focus to really flatten your back against the bench. There's a lot of controversy over whether you should maintain a neutral spine's lordotic (inward) curve when doing supine ab work or whether you should use your abs to flatten the entire spine against the supporting surface; I personally find the flat-back approach to work the abs more intensely.

Abs continue to be, I believe, the most challenging muscle group to train, primarily because all four of them (rectus abdominus, external obliques, internal obliques and transversus) lie on other soft tissue rather than a bone, thus you have no fixed surface to orient yourself. All of the surrounding muscle groups (neck, upper back, hip flexors and quadriceps femoris) want to take over the work.

You may also want to check out the part of Cathe's website that shows form pointers for abdominals if you haven't already done so!

I think you're wise to keep experimenting, and just keep doing a little bit more each time!

You go, lady!

Annette

 

[jgoycoolea]

Are you starting an ab workout "fresh" after giving them time to rest, regrow, and get stronger OR are you already prefatigued from trying so hard the day before?

Jeanne

 

[getnfit@38]

I only WISH I could say they were prefatigued! I do abs every other day. My rotation of the past 8 weeks was a PS Series rotation so I was doing the ab work from both L&A and BBA, and sadly after 8 weeks I still couldn't make it through either ab section without stopping for a moment or two! I'm wondering how much of it could be my breathing as well? I have problems knowing how to exhale on the 3-tier lifts. You know the ones where Cathe says, "1st floor, 2nd floor, etc." well~do I exhale on each individual lift? Save my air to exhale a little on each one? Or what? I usually give out/darn near pass out on those!
But to answer your question, my abs are "fresh" each day I do ab work, very rarely have I ever tried the abs from L&A and BBA back to back. I've read some literature that says it's okay to do abs daily, then other literature that says they are like any other muscle group so you should put a day of rest between. So since I struggle so much with it anyway, I opted for the day off in between
Thanks, Donna