Abs workout is needed

[Kante]

The frogman crunch wil work the Rectus Abdominus, and the the Transverse abdominus will be worked in part by all the exercises listed. If you are worried about the transverse in isolation, which I am not, then muscle control exercises derived from maxalding and pilates are very good at working this.

As for the time spent it is more than sufficient to build a foundation of strength. short explosive workouts are far more efficient than hours working the wrong exercises. If you are working on other lifts for functonal strength then your abs will be worked by these two. This does not apply to work done on machines, but lifts, gymnastic exercises and olympic lifts all engage the abdominal muscles in a way that will generate functional strength.

Alright thanks a lot for helping me out, I was just kinda worried that I would only be getting a definition rather than solid abs.

Now when doing abs exercises is it crucial to do them all in a row?

Also would cardio on the treadmill help with the abs as well? Somewhere around 20 hours a week, includes walking and running.

And how do you do the lower ab roll up?

[Dazed and Confused]

Lower ab roll up is simple, sometimes called a reverse sit up. You basically lie on your back with knees at a 90 degree angle as if you're about to do a normal sit up. You hold your head off the ground with your chin on your chest, then roll the hips back to bring your knees to either side of your head. Perform the slowly so as not to use too much momentum to help in the movement.

yes do all the exercises in a row, to maximise fatigue to the muscles.

As for cardio this will help with definition if that is something your interested in- a classic 6 pack can only really be obtained if you burn the fat covering the abdominal wall. I personally don't do much aerobic work as I don't see how it helps with MA. I prefer high intensity interval work, but it all helps.

[Kante]

Hey I just have two more questions:

*How to do the frogman crunch?

*Do lower ab thrusts work the whole low section of the abs or just the mid section? Because am just doing lower ab thrusts and when I try to do leg lifts for example after it it becomes rather difficult so am settling for lower ab thrusts for the low abs. Is that enough?

Thanks

[Dazed and Confused]

Lower ab thrusts should be fine, but its never a good idea to rely on one exercise or the muscles might get stale. Perhaps substitute leg lifts or knee raises one day a week?

As for the frogman crunch, its quite an odd exercise but my instructor swears by it. Basically get in a normal sit up position, knees bent, feet on the floor. Now press the soles of your feet together and let your knees flop outwards so they are as near to touching the floor as possible. Pull your feet as close in to your body as possible. Now in this position try to perform your sit ups as you would normally. The abdominal muscles are so isolated that you'll barely get your shoulders off the floor, but you'll really feel the burn after just a few reps. Doing sit ups in this way works the whole abdominal wall, but I would still do the lower ab stuff and the bench/military sit ups.

Hope that helps!