Stomach muscle building

Deadly Ferret

Deadly Ferret

Deadly Ferret

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11 Apr 2003
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I've been knowingly neglecting my stomach muscles because I'm convinced crunches, sit-ups and similar exercises are bad for the back. Maybe not for everybody, but for me anyway as I've felt various twinges that didn't seem right, and a friend with back problems reckons sit-ups made his back worse following his accident. I don't have back problems as far as I'm aware, and I want to keep it that way.

Whether you think I'm right or not, I'd be grateful for any suggestions on alternatives, if there actually are any. :)

Is there anything that can be done with dumbells for example?
 
I'd never try and isolate my abdominal muscles.

Things like squats, deadlifts, chins etc all work your abdominals.
 
Thanks. As part of my existing routine I perform wide-legged squats holding a 20kg dumbell in each hand. Will that be helping then? It's hard to tell because of the fat around my belly! :D

I've never dead-lifted before. What's a good way to establish the right starting weight without risking injury? If I listed some of the weights I'm on for various dumbell exercises, would you be able to suggest a weight based on those?
 
just do a couple of sets with the bar first, to get the movement right

40kg seems like a good starting point, although it should be faily easy, make sure you get the form right

when you are comfertable start adding weight, just make sure your form is always right
 
Thanks very much. I have enough plates from my dumbells to make up 40kg, so I'll nip down to Argos and try out one of their bars.

Ah, thinking back to what I could press when I used to use a gym, I see what you mean about legs. I'll probably end up having to buy some more plates then, but I was thinking of buying a leg press stand for my Christmas present so I'd have to buy more then anyway. :D
 
Deadly Ferret said:
I'm approximately 170lbs.

I'm curling 18kg at the moment, so I suppose I could start on about 40kg? Is that a good rule of thumb, going for twice what one arm can handle?
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there is no rule of thumb, especially when comparing such different exercises.
for example, i couldnt curl 18kg dbs yet i deadlift quite a bit more than 40kg.

how wide do you squat? if its more than shoulder width then it might be worth bringing your feet in, that way you will have further to squat.
 
About shoulder width plus 25%. I'll try some close-legged squats too then, but I prefered the look of wide leg on the chart as it seems to use a better posture.
 
Remember when deadlifting to try and use a bigger weight as using smaller weights put the bar further to the ground meaning you need to bend over more.

If you only have say 5kg plates biggest then I would look at building some kind of blocks to lift off.
 
Um hate to go against the grain here but if you're feeling twinges (you don't mention where but I get the feeling it's in your back) then I'm not sure starting deadlifting for the first time is a good idea as that's a prime way of injuring yourself for life with bad form even on light weights.

If you do go that route then be seriously careful and consider getting a heavy duty belt for the extra support. 40kg is too much to begin with just start with an empty bar until you're used to the movement.
 
If you can get anything similar to a roman chair, then doing leg raises on that will have you making progress VERY quickly.

The key thing is to vary your exercise routine, or your body will adapt to a certain type of movement and you'll lose the benefit.
 
Well i use to do "V-ups" they helped massively, i did them like 2 years ago and got a real good ab look going, then i stopped and i've still got rock hard abs! :p

A V-up is like a sit-up, but instead of rasing your torso to your knees, you keep you legs straight and lift both your legs and torso up at the same time, making sure that your legs are straight or the effect is lost, it is hard in the beginning to do but it gets easier the more you do them. That was in case you did'nt know what it was by the way :D
 
do you not find that your legs get in the way? or do you run the DB down your leg?
 
My arms hang limp and the DBs end up going lower than the legs and to the side of them. I think it's a combination of two things: one it being the wide-legged squat, so the distance between my knees is greater than the width of my legs at the point that corresponds to where the DBs are/when fully lowered my knees, legs and waist form a sort of rhomboidal shape; two my shoulders are quite wide for my frame, so my arms probably hang out a bit further in relation to my legs than they would for most people.
 
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