Abs have 'no feeling' ... hard to explain

[Trump]

I do a pretty good ab regimine, but even after having bumped up the weight I never get the same 'burn' as I do in other muscles when working my abs. They just seem to go numb and I stop when they 'give up'...


am I doing something wrong?

 

[SZ03]

You know what.

When doing weighted exercises for my abs I get the burn on the first few sets but then they just go numb and it seems like they almost give up

What I have started doing is to get one of those inflatable balls and just do 3 sets of 15 on that. Super slow crunches. The burn seems to return and my abs are hurting the next day.

Give that a try


sz

 

[squanto]

i never felt the burn with abs for a long time. a lot of ab machines do nothing for me, as well... i would recommend doing at least 3 sets of 3 exercises. i do this 3 times a week, and im finally seeing results. ive even seen people swear by doing 3 sets of 5 exercises!granted, i need to get my bodyfat level down to see a really nice 6-pack, but i definately notice a difference.

first off, make sure you are changing the exercises you do! i change them every 2-3 weeks.
this is what i did today:
3 sets of straight leg raises - 48,42,38 reps
3 sets of double crunches - 40,45,33
3 sets of side leg lift things - 9,8,8

i dont really know the names of these exercises but illt ry to explain: double crunches is where i do a crunch, but let my legs go down and up with the crunch, not just my upper body. the side leg lift thigns are like a leg raise, but if you were looking overhead, my legs will go to the right, middle, left, middle, right etc. so it would look like this, \|/ if i had 3 sets of legs. thats the best i can explain it. i just started doing this one, usually i swear by bicycle crunches, if done slowly enough.
you might want to try going slower on the abs. also, sometimes i used to stop working the abs before i had really exhausted the muscle, because at least for me, my abs feel like they are exhausted when i can still do like 10 or 20 reps! as far as "going numb" i know what u mean, i would just do more sets, personally.

i also make sure im focusing on my abs, not the obliques. i get some oblique work in (bicycle crunches usually) but i concentrate on the muscles in the middle more. this workout takes me like 15-20 minutes, but its the only way i can get any results. some times i put in weighted crunches on a machine, but not usually. im not sure if this is what you were looking for, but this is what works for me, i hope it helps...

 

[CowPimp]

Originally posted by squanto
i never felt the burn with abs for a long time. a lot of ab machines do nothing for me, as well... i would recommend doing at least 3 sets of 3 exercises. i do this 3 times a week, and im finally seeing results. ive even seen people swear by doing 3 sets of 5 exercises!granted, i need to get my bodyfat level down to see a really nice 6-pack, but i definately notice a difference.

first off, make sure you are changing the exercises you do! i change them every 2-3 weeks.
this is what i did today:
3 sets of straight leg raises - 48,42,38 reps
3 sets of double crunches - 40,45,33
3 sets of side leg lift things - 9,8,8

i dont really know the names of these exercises but illt ry to explain: double crunches is where i do a crunch, but let my legs go down and up with the crunch, not just my upper body. the side leg lift thigns are like a leg raise, but if you were looking overhead, my legs will go to the right, middle, left, middle, right etc. so it would look like this, \|/ if i had 3 sets of legs. thats the best i can explain it. i just started doing this one, usually i swear by bicycle crunches, if done slowly enough.
you might want to try going slower on the abs. also, sometimes i used to stop working the abs before i had really exhausted the muscle, because at least for me, my abs feel like they are exhausted when i can still do like 10 or 20 reps! as far as "going numb" i know what u mean, i would just do more sets, personally.

i also make sure im focusing on my abs, not the obliques. i get some oblique work in (bicycle crunches usually) but i concentrate on the muscles in the middle more. this workout takes me like 15-20 minutes, but its the only way i can get any results. some times i put in weighted crunches on a machine, but not usually. im not sure if this is what you were looking for, but this is what works for me, i hope it helps...

I do a routine similar to that. The basic premise is the same: 3 sets x 3 days per week. I do every set to failure, or near failure. My routine looks like this:

Monday:
3 x Captain's Chair (Sort of)
3 x Bicycle Crunch
3 x Double Crunches

Wednesday:
3 x Bicycle Crunch
3 x Captain's Chair
3 x Leg Lifts

Friday:
3 x Captain's Chair
3 x Bicycle Crunch
3 x Ab Roller

Here is a study that ranked 13 different ab exercises in terms of the most stimuli for your rectus abdominus and obliques.

Also, as squanto said, it is good to change your ab exercises often. I am planning to change mine every 12 weeks or so, when I change around my other lifts.

 

[Trump]

Wonderful feedback guys, it is appreciated!!!


I am going to take some of the advice and get back to you on how it goes

 

[Trump]

My current excercise is:

140lb crunches on ab machine 15-15-15
incline crunch with 25lb medicine ball behind neck 15-15
incline crunch very slow no weight 10-15
captains chair 10-10

Same thing done M-W-F



I am going to add in bicycle manuever and see how that goes. I never like doing cruches on the excercise ball

 

[DrChiro]

It is not the excercises....it is HOW you do them....as a personal trainer women used to tell me all the time that they could do 100 crunches in a row but they still have crappy abs. When I showed them how to do it right they could only do about 20 and it burnt like hell....and the results were awesome.

Suck your belly button down like you are trying to make it touch your spine....also tilt your pelvis up slightly....hold this contracted position the whole time while you do your crunches...if you do it right you will know it...if you dont feel it keep messing around with the position till you get it...let me know what happens!

 

[Trump]

Originally posted by DrChiro
let me know what happens!

Today is my ab day; I can't wait to get out of work and try some of this advice out!

I will let you all know later tonight how it goes

 

[Trump]

omfg

I am back, and my midsection is on fire.

Dr. Chiro, your advice was extremely helpful! I had one problem with it- it was hard to keep my stomach sucked in and keep breathing correctly. Is it let stomach out on way down and inhale, then hold and pull stomach in on way up to exhale at the zenith?


I also tried the bicycle manuever... for the first time ever. Needless to say, I looked like someone trying to pat their head and rub their stomach at the same time if you know what I mean. I need to practice it a bit


About 3/4 through the workout I tried to do a stomach vaccuum and all my stomach muscles started burning then cramped up completely and wouldn't go back out! I doubled over and breathed in as much air as I could and they finally relaxed.


All in all one of the wackiest ab workouts I have ever had. Slowing down, using some of the techniques you all told me about, and really concentrating, gave me a great workout.