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Abs without crunches?

Paradiddle

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I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis so whenever I do planks, crunches and other abdominal exercises, my symptoms worsen. I know in order to have good abs, you need to have a good diet and 50% abs are made in the kitchen. However, my question is, are there any alternatives to crunches and planks for working out my abdomen?
P.S. I posted this on 'Anything else?' by mistake.
 

mrgoodstuff

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Can you do side bends and twists? What about leg raises? This will hit all the angles of the abdominals, and use diet and cardio to strip the fat away so you can see the work you put in.
 

Paradiddle

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Can you do side bends and twists? What about leg raises? This will hit all the angles of the abdominals, and use diet and cardio to strip the fat away so you can see the work you put in.
That should work, thanks.
 

Paradiddle

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I'm not convinced that planks/crunches are needed for good abs. I never work abs directly. Diet and cardio are crucial, of course, but abs also get a lot of ancillary work via almost any movement, especially from the Big 3 movements (squats, deads, bench).

In my mind clean diet and intense, consistent cardio, along with resistance training comprising at least deads/squats/bench, will yield a defined and lean midsection in about 12 weeks for most.
There are a lot of debates on whether squats and deadlifts help you have a ripped abdomen or not. However, I think, it totally depends on the type of body a person has. For some it might work and for some it doesn't. For me, it doesn't. Or like you said, I might not be having a strict diet and following a strict cardio regimen.
 

skinnyguy

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I’m focusing more on cardio and burning fat. Ab exercises didn’t help me.
 

HankHill

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I'm not an expert but if I tighten my stomach I can feel the resemblance of the 6pack abs. The problem is the surface fat covering it up. From what I've read it's all about the diet and cardio to get rid of that.
 

Poonstra

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Plus genetics, some see their abs at 12% body fat, others have to go down to 8% or even less. I don't care about abs tho, I can only show them off that one time a year that I'm at the beach. If you don't want to train them directly, train them by proxy, dead lifts and squats.
 

MrJack

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I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis so whenever I do planks, crunches and other abdominal exercises, my symptoms worsen. I know in order to have good abs, you need to have a good diet and 50% abs are made in the kitchen. However, my question is, are there any alternatives to crunches and planks for working out my abdomen?
P.S. I posted this on 'Anything else?' by mistake.
There is a machine at the Xsport I go to that is a standing weighted crunch/sit up.

You hold the two things to your chest and use your abs to pull yourself down all while standing up.

Shouldn’t be a chance for gastritis shyt to come up your esophagus that way.

If you don’t have a machine like that, you can take a rope attachment to a cable machine set the highest it will go, get on your knees (hehe) and do the same motion except you hold the rope above your head/neck.
 
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Paradiddle

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There is a machine at the Xsport I go to that is a standing weighted crunch/sit up.

You hold the two things to your chest and use your abs to pull yourself down all while standing up.

Shouldn’t be a chance for gastritis shyt to come up your esophagus that way.

If you don’t have a machine like that, you can take a rope attachment to a cable machine set the highest it will go, get on your knees (hehe) and do the same motion except you hold the rope above your head/neck.
Thanks, Mr. Jack. :)
 

marmel75

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Crunches are probably one of the LEAST effective ways to get abs
 

KingofPuss

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Only thing you need is front squats and interval sprints. Front squats are so damn effective at building your abs up because you have to stabalize the heavy bar with more of your abs than with your posterior chain (like with the traditional back squats).

Also try an ab wheel.
 
R

Ranger

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First off. Most people already have a good set of abs. It’s under the layer of fat. This is the clue.
There are way better exercises for your core. You want good abs. Do deadlifts. Best core workout ever. Hands down.
 
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