can someone recommend me an abs routine for building them up to take hits better....

[danielson]

my abs havent really increased in thickness, but make increases in strength

trouble is after a heavy lifting day at the gym, walking the two flights of stairs up to the ab area is exhausting in itself, and my volume for ab work is probably too low.

i currently do 3 sets of weighted roman chair situps twice a week(holding each rep for 1 sec, 15 reos in total), as ive read that increases strength, and i do ab work when i train for kungfu also



but can someone recommend a routine where i can do enough each day not to over-fatigue the muscle but also increase in size, so i can take a front thrusting kick to the stomach and not think 'ow that hurt'

any replies would be much appreciated

 

[Caesar_wv]

Anything w/ a medicine ball will help!!!

 

[Thaibox]

To expand on the medicine ball thing....

Place two decline benches feet facing eachotherwith a decent amount of throwing space between them. Grab a med ball, lie down on one bench with a buddy on the other. Sit up and overhead toss the ball in one motion. The catcher controls the forced decline, and repeats the overhead throw of the first guy. When you start these, you'll probably have to throw from your midsection. Then after a while move up to throwing near straight-armed overhead. Lots o' fun

 

[danielson]

<mental note- find a medicine ball >

thanx for replies ....goes i'll try and turn up the volume and hold reps more & see if that helps the thickness and go shout at my gym owner and see if he;ll buy a few medicine balls

 

[wizeass]

Hey,
my advice is to train abs 5-6 times a week, i do that for boxing and it has helped quite a bit, what i do is 5 sets of 30 crunchs, and a lower ab excersice for 5 sets of 30 and alternate with another routine the next day.
and you should be doing your abs just at the end ofyour workout you will not have enough energy to fully blast them. I suggest doing them half way or at the beggining of your workout.

 

[Magnus T Rico]

Danielson,

You might give this set up a try. It comes from Matt Furey's Combat Abs book. It's called the Magnificent 7.


1. "Farmer" Burns Stomach Flattener- Stand with arms at sides relaxed. Inhale through nose without letting stomach expand (just gently tense to avoid this). Now force air down & outward WITHOUT letting it out for 2-5 seconds. The book says to repeat this for AT Least 5 minutes.
2. Vacuums- Bend forward expelling ALL air out of lungs. Now without inhaling stand up pulling diaphagn/stomach under rib cage hold for 8 seconds. When you release let air draw in through nose. Do this for 10 reps
3. Tai Chi Waist Turner- stand with arms hanging loosely at sides rotate torso letting arms bend at elbows until they slap kidney area. This is done for 50 reps.
4. Back arch with forward bend & squeeze- With hands on hips inhale as you arch back as far as you can. Then exhale as you bend forward squeezing abs. 10 reps
5. Dynamic side bend w/isometric squeeze- Hold one arm overhead inhale as you bend as far to one side as you can, then move in & out just one half inch for 50 reps finishing with a 8 second squeeze of sides. Repeat on opposite side. {note: once doing movement you are breathing}
6. Hands overhead side bend- Lace fingers palms up overhead inhale bend to one side flex as hard as you can while holding 8 seconds. Do this 6 times then switch sides.
7. Trunk rotators- With hands on hips inhale hold breath as you circle around then exhale each time you reach start point. This is done for 10 then repeat in other direction.

Note: Breath in through nose exhale through mouth on everything. Do this a fully as you can. If you get light-headed this is not unusual, but should pass with time.



You may recognize some of these with different names. Mr. Furey recommends doing them every day. He also says that they can be done multiple times a day as well. It should take less then 15 minutes to them after you learn them.

 

[coolcolj]

You know those chest expander things? Well when I was at school I worked my abs by compressing one end of those against my abs, so I would flex my abs in a isometric contraction 3 sets of 10 or so.

And boy did I have abs of steel, I would have guys line up at lunch to take their best punch on my ab wall, I didn't feel anything

That's what you need isometric strength, and it happens pretty quickly too. 3 weeks or so

 

[danielson]

thnx for the replies

 

[Raoul]

the only ex you need

I know an exercise that might add TOO MUCH mass to the abs... So you only have to do it for a few months. I don't even know the name, let's call it the Front Pulley Pulldown... Basically it's like a triceps push-down but with your arms straight.
Here is how it goes:
Stand in front of the pulley station about 2 feet away, grab the bar, keep your arms straight and pull the weight down in a semi-circular movement. Contract your abs forcefully and pause for 3 second pressing the bar against your lower thighs.(you'll feel your abs turn into a steel armor if you used enough weight!!!) If it wasn't challenging enough, add weight. Go for 4-5 sets of 8-10 once or twice a week. This Ex works the abs in a more natural way, to maintain right posture. Try it !! If you want to have bigger, stronger abs.

 

[b fold the truth]

When I taught Martial Arts...we would stand against one of the concrete walls with our arms spread apart...and another trainee would throw light (extremely light) punches to their mid section. It was light enough not to hurt...but hard enough for the person against the wall to have to constantly tighten up their abs when being hit.

We often wore our gloves (2 oz gloves or less) and would punch a little harder as the person got used to it. We threw at different speeds...sometimes one hand right after another for 2-5 minutes straight...sometimes 2-3 punches every 10 seconds. It also taught rhythm to the person throwing the punches...

Just a few thoughts..

B True