What is the correct way to do sit-ups/crunches?
596933
no pain no gain...its supposed to hurt a little...your only in trouble when it still hurts hours after youre done exercising.\n\nfor get sit-ups...do crunches\nsit ups are rough on the lower back, especailly for beginners.\n\ncrunches....cross your arm across your chest, your hands should be on the opposite shoulder....never put hands on the back of your head, when you fatigue, you will tend to pull on your head to help yourself up and thats real bad for your neck.\n\nhook your feet under the couch on the floor(when you get strong enough, you wont hafa do this) your knees should be bent 90 degrees from you calfs and quads..using your abdominals, lift your upper body so that it is off the ground, but not sitting up all the way.  all of your back should be off the ground, not just your shoulder blades.  and relax and repeat.  remember your arms are close to your body in front of you crossed your chest.\n\n5 sets of 10-15
506431
I'd say abdominal exercises but not sit-ups, as they might be harmful for ur lower back (depends on how fit u r overall, though). \n\nTry crunches and do them every day: \n\nhttp://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Crunches.htm\n\nHere's a fairly good website w photos and explanations:\n\nhttp://www.sixpacknow.com/abdominal_exercises.html \n\nAlso depending on how much of this abdominal fat is on the outside (because abdominal fat can be both inside the abdominal cavity, below the muscles, and outside, below the skin layer), u can get massage and some anti-cellulite cream to help this outer layer of fat go away.
293784
If you do crunches properly, you should not be able to exceed 30 reps.  Slow is key for abdomonial contraction.  Think of rolling a carpet.  If you're doing 50, 100 or more crunches, you're probably not doing them correctly.\n\nRegarding pushups, it depends on goal. For power, you will need ballstic and explosive fast movements.  For strength, 8-12 rep range at a moderate pace (2 seconds for a full rep).
232270
Get in the sit-up position and instead of lifting your upper body, lift and lower your hips. Also do this pointing your toes into the ground and again flexing them towards the ceiling. Next try it lifting and lowering your hip on one side and switch to the other side.\n\nAnother work out is to lay down on your back and put your legs together and lift them into air and do crunches or to spread your legs wide and do crunches to the center and then the sides (reaching one hand towards the opposite leg) and finally doing crunches to the the center again while trying to touch your feet. \n\nI hope this makes sense, it's hard to explain without pictures.
771351
ALL SIT-UPS ARE GONNA DO IS STRENGTHEN YOUR ABDOMINAL MUSCLES...YOU PROBABLY WANT TO BURN OFF THE FAT THATS IN FRONT OF YOUR ABS, do that with interval training and circuit training... sorry, caps was on !...
311317
I find that a mix of exercises is best, you've got a lot of ab muscles and should try to work the majority of them to get an even muscle spread.\n\nI usually tend to do cycling crunches, where you lift your left elbow and right leg and vice versa.  Followed by a set of twisting crunches, a set of normal crunches, a set of double leg raises and finish with some lying bridges and back raises.\n\nSit ups tend to work your hip extensors more than the abs, ab crunches can do the job.  Beware though; over working your abs can do more harm than good, working them every other day is more than enough.\n\nBut you could also leave the crunches and get swimming :)
440696
First and foremost, stay away from any ab machine you see on TV as they are simply a waste of money and barely effective.\n\nIt is also important not to confuse the term sit-ups with crunches which are the effective method to exercise your upper abdominals.  The abdominal muscles work just like any other muscle and have to be challenged as such. If you want muscular abdominals, you have to challenge them with resistance and good form just like you would your chest, your back or any other muscle for that matter. Targeting the correct energy system is imperative. This means you should never enter into the aerobic phase of this exercise, ideally keeping it under 2 minutes at most. \n\nThink of rolling a carpet and contracting fully on the top of the movement and squeeze. If you do them correctly, you shouldn't be able to do more than 30 crunches. Any more than that, and you're probably doing them half-azz, incorrectly or with a partial range of motion.\n\nFor the upper abs, focus on crunches which effectively work the abdominals better than sit-ups or any machine on the market.\n\nFor the lower abs, keep in mind there is very little muscle tissue there so decreasing levels of body fat is the most effective way to bring out the best in this area. Hanging leg raises, v-situps and reverse curls are among some of the best exercise for this region. Always make sure your pelvis curls up to maximize lower abdominal contraction during these exercises.\n\nAs far as fat loss and getting ripped goes, cardio, cardio, cardio. Abdominal exercises alone will never burn fat from your abdominal area.  You must do cardiovascular exercise to accomplish this.  Cardio is best in the morning, on an empty stomach at about 70-80% of your maximum heart rate for about 30-45 minutes. This combined with a common sense diet will quickly shed body fat so you can actually see those abs you've developed. \n\nI would encourage you to seek the advice and guidance of a personal trainer in your area for further education on these principles. Please ensure you start off at a very basic level for crunches and cardio if you are a beginner.\n\nHere's a good list of ab exercises:\nhttp://preventdisease.com/fitness/Strength_Exercises_abdominals.html
1172324
1- Weighted crunches\n2- Weighted incline sit-ups\n3- Weighted sit-ups\n\nThe best way to do weighted crunches is to lie on the floor with your head close to the low pulley weight stack. Using the rope handle attachment, grasp the ends and pull the cable until it is tight and your hands are resting at the side of your head near your ears. Now contract your ab muscles in a crunch that lifts your shoulders off the floor and draws the weight stack up an inch or two. Choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8 to 12 reps.\n\nIf you don't have access to a low pulley, there is a good alternative. You can use the high pulley that is normally used for lat pulldowns. Kneel on the floor or sit in the seat directly under the rope handles that you attach to the high pulley. Lock your legs under the hold down. Pull the handles into position next to your ears, then contract your ab muscles into a crunch that raises the weight stack an inch or two. Again, choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8 to 12 reps.\n\nAs a further alternative, you can lie on the floor and do a sit-up or crunch while holding a barbell plate against your chest. The limitation of this exercise is that, as you progress in strength, it will not be possible to hold enough plates on your chest safely. But that's a good problem to have.\n\nOn each successive workout, shoot for a 5-15% increase in the weight you use. If you can't get a 5% increase, it's time to add more days off between your workouts.\n\n\nit's no mystery
37183
a few good exercises for you:\n1) when you are doing your crunches, twist. bring your right elbow to your left knee.\n2) hold a weight bar over your head (with only enough weight to make you focus on stability, not much) then, standing with feet shoulder width apart, bring the bar to your left side, then back up, then over to the right side. you are only moving your upper body side to side.\n3)the best excercise (hurts like a mofo) is the side plank. just like the normal plank, but turn to your side. lay on the floor and hold all body weight on your forearm and balance yourself on your forearm and foot. hold this for anywhere from 30sec-1min. i promise you will feel it! =)\n\nGood luck to you =)
880574
do 10 minutes of each, dont do them in amounts. thats what i do only more. im 16 and i do 15 min of sit-ups and 15 min of crunches. then 10 of weights. anyways it should take a month maybe less. then when u get older youll get obliques which are on the side of your abdominals and maybe an 8-pack, but those are usually genetic.
178858
start doing crunches.  And do them different ways, i.e., lay on your side and have your head looking up at the ceiling, the normal way, and don't forget to work on your lower abdomen by laying flat and lifting your legs up.  You need to start with an amount that you can handle, until your stomach muscles are screaming, then roll over and lay on your stomach and lift your upper body off the floor arching your back to stretch them out for a smidge.  Work your way up to about 100-200 a day.  You'll be looking good in no time.
237016
Do crunches and cardio exercise,and eat right
282467
Hope these links help:\n\nBest sit ups:\nhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3160355.stm\n\nHow to do a sit up:\nhttp://www.todmaffin.com/blogs/howtodostuff/?p=9\n\nSit up guide and test:\nhttp://www.fitness4living.co.uk/sit_ups.htm\n\nThe site with pics on how to do sit ups is:\nhttp://www.get-six-pack-abs.com/stomach-exercises.html
966374
crunches but not just simple crunches try putting both your hands on the back of your head and raise your head laying flat and lift your legs alitte over 8 inches r till where its stranious and hold for 20 seconds, after every 20 seconds lift your legs pass that and spread them apart in a butterfly motion then drop back into the 8 inch position but NEVER let your feet touch to the ground also keep your hands behind your head raised, your body should make the shape of a skateboard \n\nThe bicycle exercise:\nput your hands on the back of your head(like your relaxing) raise your head, and lift your legs up and move them like your on a bicycle TIP: raising your back off the ground and rocking from side to side (like the song) while doing the bicycle motion will put effect on every area of your stomach and burn fat right off, its going to burn alot but it works \n\n6 Pak exercise:\nnormal crunch position but lift one leg and lift your head on the same side you lift your leg, that works the right or the left side of your stomach: for those of you that dont know normal crunches work the top part of your abs and thats about it but those with short stomachs it works the top and the middle a tad so its just a 4 pack but switcin up and balancing your legs and things of that nature will get the job done
465516
crunches, crunches, crunches! it works, just give it time!! plus, after you do them you feel like you did something healthy (which you did) Do them straight, and on both sides. Eat lots of fruit
771144
I think instead of doing crunches where you use your abs to pull yourself up, you should try lifting your lower body to reach the lower abs. \n\nThat is, try leg lifts, "bicycling" motions, and bringing your knees into your chest with each crunch. You can also try hanging from a bar and lifting your knees to your chest. Though, that KILLS me! Try it...you will feel it lower than you feel the crunches. \n\nAlso, you might try the "plank pose." You know, basically in the position you would use doing push-ups, though I do this on my elbows and toes. Just hold that pose and lift the middle of your body up and down until it feels like your lower abs are engaged. \n\nGood luck!
1058816
lay flat on your back, with your hands palm down at your side, put your legs together and lift them off the ground about 6 inches for as long as u can stand it.  this helps to work the lower (harder to tone) abs.