Feeling Sick after Sit Ups

[BatZgirl]

Yeah i do them right

Are you doing them slowly, with a full extension and complete contraction? Contract hard at the top of the movement, and you probably won't be able to rack up so many reps. Important: rep quality, not rep quantity.

I've been meaning to ask you, BatZ: what does the rest of your routine look like?

Yip, belive it or not I have a very strong stomach (I used to be a swimmer for 9 years) I do them correctly but damn afterwards my poor stomach feels like jelly. The reason I do so many reps is because I find it better for myself to do 50 or 100 situps non stop rather than 5 sets of 20.

Maybe Im wrong in doing that and maybe I should go back to doing 5 sets of 20 instead - what do you guys think?

 

[BatZgirl]

mmm

Sorry to hear about the stomach bug - hope you feel better soon. Did you ask the doc about your leg and clicking bones at the same time?

I was just wondering about your workout, because you said before you have problems staying motivated sometimes.

I assume you're trying to lose body fat at the moment, right? Are you trying to build muscle?

IJMO, but I think you're doing too much ab work. You could drop it to 2 or 3 days a week, do 4 sets of 15 - 30 reps, and you'd get the same or better effects (assuming you have little enough body fat to be able to see your abs). You could probably add about 6-8 kg to your dumbbell side bends if you want strength in your torso. 2 kg is in the plastic pink d/b range, girl! You're doing cardio work there!

Do you do cardio before or after weights? After is usually best, so that you have enough energy to go to positive failure on your weight routine. What kind of sets and reps are you doing on the weights?

'Course, you don't have to pay attention - just trying to help out.

thanks for the reply steel,
Well im basicallly trying to build more defined muscle as its there, it just need to be enhanced if you know what I mean and drop my b/f persantace by 6% at the same time The training schedule I gave you I usually foolow, but as you know sometimes I loose motivation, Ill do the program for about 3 weeks then i loose motivation to go to gym at all.

I do 30 min of cardio before hand and 30 min after weights or 50min before hand and 10 afterwards

I see most of you guys suggest im doing too much cardio, maybe what I should do is one week focus on muscle and one week forcus on loosing B/f?

What you think?

 

[rez]

do 20mins after weights and 30mins on an empty stomach first thing in the morning on non-weight training days

 

[SteelWeaver]

OK, firstly, 3 weeks is barely enough time for your body to start adjusting to the new stresses you're placing on it. You may notice strength gains in that time, but probably no gains in muscle size. So every time you quit, when you go back, you have to start from scratch again.

QUOTE BatZgirl:
"focus on muscle and one week forcus on loosing B/f? "

BatZ - muscle gain ultimately = fat loss. It's simple - muscles burn more calories than fat (fat doesn't burn calories - it just sits there). The more muscle you can gain, the more efficiently your body's "engine" will work. Of course, it's a *little* more complicated - diet and cardio fit in there, too, but you have to have a balance.

It's very difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Most people work in gaining and cutting cycles for a few months at a time. Gain muscle, then cut fat, mostly through diet, but adding cardio when fat loss slows. Of course, cardiovascular health is important too, so don't quit cardio altogether, but you're doing A LOT of cardio.

Too much cardio can be catabolic. I don't know exactly how much cardio is bad - but I was doing about as much as you last year, and my muscle gains were SLOW. I cut back on it a lot this year, and have made better gains. I've spent the last 6 months REALLY trying to gain muscle, and from January I start dieting for definition (well, for a contest, but small steps first). So my bodyfat has stayed about the same for a while.

If I were doing as much cardio as you, I'd also lose motivation!!! Why don't you try to plan the next 6 months or so, just generally. Lift hard and heavy, cut back on the cardio, and eat CLEAN, making sure you get enough lean protein (you can do a search for how much - usually about 1g per pound of body weight). Then taper the diet later on to create a calorie deficit, and, voila! A new, shapely, you! ('Course, it'll take longer than 6 months, this is a LIFESTYLE, remember, but it's a good initial goal). Keep a training diary, and hopefully, with new lifting goals each week, you'll stay motivated to go to the gym, and eventually, it'll just be your normal routine.

Do some searches around the board for good training routines. Wilson6 posted some excellent ones several months ago.

Oh, and the abs - they're like any other muscle (although a bit more endurance-oriented). They grow with resistance and need recovery time, too. Your muscles recover and grow when you're OUTSIDE the gym, eating and sleeping. Slam them with several hard sets, then leave them alone for a few days.

Again, I'm not a pro or anything, just trying to help.