Hi all,
I think I read somewhere that doing ab exercises (crunches, etc.) don't help you lose weight necessarily but they do tighten the ab muscles so that they shape better. I've been doing about 25 minutes worth of abs every morning and trying to incorporate resistance rather than count (i.e., holding the stretch for 2 counts, then 3, 4, and now I'm up to 5) because I read in an article recommended here that that's the best way to tighten abs (as opposed to upping the count). However, I thought this would help me lose inches and I've gained an inch in the hips (all else is on track, like eating, etc.) So I'm wondering if it's even worth it for me to wake up early in the morning just to do the abs (I also walk 30 minutes every morning and do some exercises with free weights to strengthen upper and lower arms).

Just your thoughts...

Thanks,
Tam

Hi Tammay

Have you tried holding a weight to add resistance? Then you could work the muscles to failure with less reps, less time. I am not really an expert but 25 minutes every day for abs seems like a lot. Two or three times a week should be plenty.

Sandy

Hi Sandylee,
Thank you for the advice. That sounds more logical than what I'm doing . I'll try adding a weight and doing less reps and less time and see how that goes.

tam

If you are interested in an excellent ab workout, go to you local Barns and Noble or go online and get Absolution by Shawn Philips. It will give you all the tools you need to have rock solid abs. Oh, by the way you are right, doing ab exercises by themselves will not reduce your waste measurements, you need to reduce your overall %BF to do that.

Remember - the muscles need time to heal. Daily work outs (on the same muscle) are counterproductive.