17
Simply: No they're not
With ab exercises you train your muscles, the body takes it's energy from every source it got, no matter where it's needed. So you can't specifically burn fat at a particular bodypart.
But as you want to reduce your belly fat, why not also define some nice muscles beneath it...
It's absolutely true that you cannot burn fat at a ...
9
Kate has given you a great article to read. I agree with this article as well.
As a sports PT, I can tell you that people do not realize how much your core is actually working when you do exercises like squats, deadlifts, clean and jerks, clean and presses, and etc.
If your trainer is telling you that your core is weak, you should ask your trainer to ...
9
I suggest you take a look at the Scientific 7-Minute Workout. It's free (and so is the NY Times app for it), and it's effective (it's the result of research published in ACSM'S Health & Fitness Journal).
It does include chair step ups, high knee running in place, and jumping jacks. I haven't found any of those to be especially loud, but if you're ...
8
Your question is pretty subjective, because nobody can tell you how much to run, or whether or not you'll even enjoy it as a regular activity. Same with diet and time of day, that's all personal and you'll have to determine it for yourself.
The first item that I would stress (Other than your already recognized need to quit smoking), is that given your ...
7
Yes, it is going to be useful. Especially if you slow down your cadence (speed of repetition), you will get a good pump and you will see greater increase in your physical strength, which is something good and positive.
Simple bodyweight exercises done in a circuit fashion would be great, such as:
Squats
Push-Ups
Chin-ups if possible
Planks
The list can go ...
7
Congratulations, you found the secret muscle group, technically known as the "everything".
Being slightly more serious, loaded carries are one of the best exercises you can do to improve strength, muscle mass and general athleticism (according to Dan John)
You're right in that your core will be worked, but probably a lot more than you'd imagine. If you ...
7
No. Diarrhea is a symptom of what's going on inside your stomach. Your abdominal muscles are outside, and don't have any effect on your digestive system.
If you have a problem with diarrhea, you should take a second look at what you're eating, as a poor diet is the number one cause of diarrhea.
If you're certain that it's not the diet, see a doctor. You ...
6
First, lower back exercises shouldn't be done ONLY on rest days. Of course, since you're already hitting your lower back with squats and deadlifts, it kinda makes the comment redundant; I just needed to point that out in case you switch programs.
Second, core training can be done daily. Your core muscles are strong enough to recover quickly from applied ...
6
Squats train all of the supporting muscles of the torso -- including the anterior/abdominal muscles -- if you use a Valsalva maneuver.
Consider performing each squat repetition using these steps:
Inhale as deeply as you can.
Hold your breath by closing your glottis ("throat"), not just your lips.
Contract your torso muscles hard, including your abdominal ...
6
The amount of (appropriate intensity) training volume necessary to maintain Ab Hypertrophy is typically going to be zero sets per week. The minimum volume required to make progress is also typically going to be zero sets per week assuming that you are also doing heavy lifts that require core stabilization like squats and deadlifts. If you aren’t however, (...
6
‘The core’ is one of the most ambiguously used, misused, and poorly understood terms in physical fitness. Much of the trouble with this discussion originates from our distinct ideas of what the core actually is, and why (or sometimes even if) it is important.
In most of the academic literature, the core is understood to be comprised of three muscle groups: ...
5
Follow the Strong Lifts or Starting Strength novice weight lifting programs, and you'll develop a strong "core". These programs utilize a 5x5 or 3x5 scheme (5 sets of 5 reps, or 3 sets of 5 reps) with incremental loading (you increase the weight 5 lbs per work out). The lifts in these program are:
Squat
Deadlift
overhead press
bench press (with proper ...
5
What you want to do is use Prilepin tables, which specify how many sets of which duration you should hold for optimal (or near optimal) progress. The goal is always to have about 60 seconds total hold time; once you can do this in a single set it is time to progress to a harder variation (otherwise, you are no longer doing strength work). In the case of a ...
5
The squat and the wall-sit both are done for different purposes. You could mix them, but that could mean diluting the individual advantages of each. Try doing a wall-less sit of the kind you describe, you will feel very different pain in your muscles compared to a wall-sit. Also, the time you can hold each will be different. That should be a signal that the ...
4
There's a couple things, and one of them you'll have to rely on whomever you are coaching (even if it's yourself):
Glutes and abs should be engaged, with no sag in the middle (i.e. the back is straight)
Legs should be board straight. There can be a slight bend at the hip.
Avoid excessive angling of the legs at the hip joint. This engages the legs more ...
4
To use the plank to get stronger, you should plank for strenuous but submaximal times. In your case that would probably be sets of about 20 seconds, using multiple sets (e.g. 3-6) and resting briefly (e.g. 15 to 90 seconds) between sets. Aim for a reliable 40-second hold in a month or two.
I agree with Arthlete that the only option that looks really ...
4
First of all why do you focus only on the plank to maximize the holding time? You can work other exercises that are going to help you with your plank. your whole body is involved in the plank - shoulders, back, legs, abs. Figure out which part of the body dies first and try to strengthen it.
Of course this is not a matter of strength as it is more a matter ...
4
I roll my eyes a little bit at "core" exercises, because your body works as a full whole so if you're doing proper full body exercises your "core" (which isn't some agreed-upon anatomical term) will not only be trained, but will be trained proportionately. This is a huge deal and can't be overstated: a lot of training is down right dangerous and counter ...
4
First, other than using your spinal muscles (erector spinae) and to some extent your posterior serratus, the exercise you describe won't really work your back. It will minimally work your deltoids, and very tangentially your lats on the lateral raises.
Your glutes (butt) will act as stabilizers and help keep the extension on your back when you are on an ...
4
Here's one I haven't seen bother the neck, the Pallof Press. (Or, because I hate exercises named after names, what I call "Ab Punchouts"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3siU3GmosE
It’s crucial to make sure the hips / spine are not moving. If they are, we’re defeating the purpose of the exercise, which is to prevent torso rotation. For instance:
https://...
4
It is a bit more complicated than that.
The main abdominal muscles are the rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, and the transverse abdominis. The purpose of these muscles is two-fold: on the one hand, they move the spine (bending forward and twisting), on the other hand, they are the muscles used for forced exhalation.
These two functions are ...
4
Basic barbell lifts train bilateral strength for the core sufficiently for most athletics. They do not maximize all athletic qualities in the trunk, nor do they resolve all problems in the trunk, so other exercises are necessary for those purposes. Unilateral exercises, rotational exercises, non-sagittal-plane movements, and just more movement variety in ...
3
The sit and reach test is part of a general health assessment battery of tests. The basic method is to sit on the floor, legs flat, with feet against a box or other vertical stop. A measuring stick or device is used to see how far a person can reach towards (or past) their toes. It's used as a measure of general health when included in a full assessment. ...
3
It could be a combination of both. In order to be 100% sure I would need to see how you do it. In any case, if it's unsupportable pain I'm guessing there's something wrong.
If you are ALWAYS sore after doing that exercise (even after a few weeks of doing them), you might be compensating.
Concentrate on the glute contraction and everything should fall into ...
3
Assistance by a partner can be useful and can speed up the learning process. A partner can hold your legs and watch your form, even if she is not proficient in the handstand.
This is only after you can hold the handstand by the wall. Also, be careful not to kick your partner accidentally.
One really good assistance exercise was someone holding your legs, ...
3
I'm going to assume by "ab exercises" you mean things like crunches, sit ups, leglifts, etc. Things that isolate the abs.
Ab exercises do very little to help you burn fat, because they are essentially using 1 muscle group (abdominals).
Ab exercises, when done properly, can help strengthen your core, which provides benefits across the board. However, many ...
3
Planks are isometric exercises, great for warming up & an important skill to build for future (more advanced) exercises. They challenge your bodies ability to recruit muscles in combination to stabilise your body/form - for efficiency I limit my isometric exercises to 1:30 end goal. I add ~5 second increments each session to gradually progress the load.
...
3
I strongly recommend reading this article regarding the right way to perform planks. Here are some relevant quotes:
A plank should be a very intense, full body contraction that lasts only 8-10 seconds, not some bastardized version of a yoga pose you sustain for 10 minutes.
....
Most people treat the plank more as a marathon, seeing how long they can hold ...
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