legs suppose to help in crunches?

[Maddwraph]

i posted here a while back that was going to do crunches while putting my legs up on a balance ball and laying on my back.(along with other exercises for arms and cardio). now, when i look at the mirror, and the light reflects i could see my abs a little , but not when i look at my actualy stomach, only a little.

 

anyways, my question is if im supposed to sustain my legs up while doing crunches? will that force more my abs? or is it better to just keep my legs on the balance ball? (my legs did kind of hurt when doing crunches from holding them up, but im sure thats only to get used to). just wanted to know which one would benefit me more. thanks a lot

[Maddwraph]

hm... i didnt see anything about keeping the legs in the air as a way to force your abs on the sticky. any suggestions? stick with putting my legs ontop of the ball or just keep them in the air? thanks

[Jazzstorm]

What are your goals regarding your abs?

 

More strength?

 

Definition?

[Maddwraph]

well, to make them visible to be honest. i do cardio too, but do these crunches help?

[Jazzstorm]

You can do abdominal exercises until your blue in the face,but your abs won't show until your bodyfat is lowered.

 

You may still have strong abs,they just may not be that famous"6-pack."

[Maddwraph]

how much time of cardio is required (day,week, time) in order to acheive this 6-pack. my abs are visible if i look in the mirror, so i dont think im too far off. i have the gazelle and do cardio on that.

 

http://www.treadmillscentral.com/gazelle-elliptical.html

 

thats the gazelle. i do 30-35 minutes a day on this machine, and occasionally missing some days. at least 3 times a week its done. i sweat a lot. i also do crunches and can feel my abs getting stronger.

 

dieting im not sure on. im going to try adn stop easting after 7. whoo any suggestions would be the awesomness and very appreciated.

[Jazzstorm]

Most bodybuilders will tell you that lowering your bodyfat is mostly in your diet(like 90% or more)

 

When I say diet,I don't mean deprivation! I mean eating "clean." Healthy,unprocessed foods.

 

Try eating 5-6 mini meals,every 2-3 hours.Make sure you get enough protein,complex carbs and healthy fats. Drink lots of water. Allow yourself one "cheat" meal or cheat day a week. Doing all this will rev up your metabolism.

 

Do you lift weights? Doing so will build muscle,which will enable you to burn more calories. Doing too much cardio,without adequate nutrition will cause you to lose muscle.(Therefore the scale will say you lost weight,but it will be muscle....less muscle = a lower metabolism.)

 

I would say,start lifting weights,and do cardio 2-3x a week. Look into HIIT....it's high intensity interval training. It really burns fat. I am also using it to up my endurance for my MA tests.

 

Hope that helps!

[SevenStar]

losing weight is dependent on diet and cardio - you have to lose the fat to see the muscle. Naturally, you can't do this unless you are burning more calories than you consume - and that it ultimately what you are shooting for.

[Maddwraph]

ok, makes sense, i guess not eating after 7 wil and my usualy cardio will be a good start. can i drinker water and milk after 7 however?

[dtstiachi]

crunches are supposed to come from your abs only, even when doing reverse crunches with your legs. The hip flexors are used in leg lifts and some lower ab excercizes, but it should be your abdominals that do most if not all of the work and they are the ones that should feel dead by the end of the workout. Good luck and be safe.