toning help....

[Zeemax 0]

so after eating way too much junk food and starting to see a little bit of a pot belly i started to eat much more healthy stuff, cutting the junk out.

In addition to this (after noticing the pot belly go down) i thought a small bit of definition couldn't hurt so have been doing 150 crunchies a night.

I'm starting to see a bit of definition, but only in the top 4 of the '6 pack'. For those who understand these things, what can i do (without the use of any equipment) to tone the lower 2 pack?

thanking you

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[melstarr 0]

Quote

I'm starting to see a bit of definition, but only in the top 4 of the '6 pack'. For those who understand these things, what can i do (without the use of any equipment) to tone the lower 2 pack?

awww macca, that's so awesome that you are toning up...i need to follow your lead and do so myself
if you send alli a PM, she could give you a 'reverse situp' exercise. alli has the prettiest abs -- she works them out ALL the time*

good luck and thank you for the inspiration to tone up! love you and miss you*

~ meL* Pink Mafia / Tunnel Mafia Sister

[Nightingale 0]

cardio.

you can't see muscle definition if there's a layer of fat on top.

hit the treadmill/stairstepper/eliptical.

hire a personal trainer for a session or two, and they can help you out.

[billo 0]

the standard leg lifts described here are my fav for lower abs -
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-hf.fitnessq27jun27,0,3435646.story?coll=bal-health-headlines

the thing it leaves out is that you can put your hands under your butt in a triangle shape (thumb to thumb, index to index, palms toward the ground) to keep your lower back more flush to the ground...this especially makes it easier when you first start to work these muscles. once you do these for awhile, you can switch to "prayer" style leg lifts, where you place your palms together in front of your sternum as if you are praying while doing the leg lifts. you should notice that the prayer are considerably tougher. be sure to keep good form when you make the switch!

i agree with nightingale though, make sure you do plenty of cardio to burn the fat so that you can see the abs that the leg lifts develop.

b

[skycat 0]

I have an ab killer that doesn't require a crunch. It actually targets the smaller stabilizing muscles of the upper abs, lower abs, and lower back.

It's from Yoga and it's called a modified plank pose. The plank pose is like the up position of a push up, on toes and hands, flat back. The modified pose is hold the body in the same position, but instead of on your hands your arms are bent and you are resting on your elbows/forearms.

To hold the pose right just look at the floor between your hands it will prevent you from arching or curling your back, you want it perfectly strait. After 60 seconds your abs will be screaming.

I usually do 6 30 second reps, but Derek does 60 second reps.


Found a webpage with a better discription.
http://www.tinajuanfitness.info/exercises/proneforearmsupport.html

Fly it like you stole it!

[RoysPlayThing 0]

If you want to tone the lower pack, you have to do leg pulls or leg lifts. To do this... lie on the floor on your back and keeping your legs together and very slightly bent at the knee, lift them at a 45 degree angle and hold them there as long as you can. Do about 50-100 intervals each... Also leg pulling is when you use a heavy object and with your same position try to grab the object between your feet and pull it towards you. These both work quite well.

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[Zeemax 0]

cheers for the advice guys. I tried the leg lifts, could really feel it in my legs, but not so much in the abs? what was i doing wrong?

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[Squeak 17]

do reverse crunches and what Skycat said, modified plank, they both isolated lower abs.
If you also do twist crunches you can tone up your obliques as well
ABS are harder than most muscles to work because they don't have insertions or origins to bone, therefore they need much more work.
They hurt like hell when done right but they do look good, on males and females.

I think we need a thread for the women with ABS to represent pics must be included

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