Re: Going for a six-pack
I have a bit of a beer belly on me and want to get toned up. I don't want a proper six pack, just to get rid of my overhanging belly. I was thinking of doing 200-ish sit ups every night but I'm not really big on the whole fitness thing so I don't know whether there are any exercises that are more effective (quicker) than sit ups - without me spending any money - or how long it would take. Anybody care to shed any light on the subject? Please?
i am very experienced in physical activity (done sports my entire youth) and weight-lighting, (power lifting, actually, but not professionaly, simply don't have the body or genes for that. i'm small-short
)
here's the ugly truth:
EXCERCISE (physical activity)
simpliest proof: no "runner" is fat.
dieting is 99% a joke-lie. yes, some people, "can" diet and get and/or stay "skinny".
u can eat the most unhealthy food your entire life and still be completely fit (though probably not very healthy).
this is because excercise (physical activity) actually "BURNS" off all that fatning food and u don't get fat.
of course its much better to eat healthy food, so that u are also healthy, as well as fit.
fit and healthy are very different things.
fit refers to ability to physically perform. (should be self-explanatory)
healthy refers to your internal body, like how much calories, body fat, transfat, etc.. (nutrition-dieting stuff), which can effect how long u live.
if u wanna lose weight, there's one way to do it and only one way: u directly "BURN" it off which can ONLY be done by excercise (physical activity).
all the dieting commericals u see on tv, they are all lying...they jsut want your money.
u just gotta get up off your fat rear and "run".
to get into some of the science of it:
excercise (physical activity, "running") actually has a DOUBLE EFFECT:
1. obviously it DIRECTLY "BURNS" the pounds right off
2. it enhances your metabolism, which means u are MORE efficient at "BURNING" off the pounds, and metabolising works even when u aren't "running".
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as for you asking specifically about the stomach:
the best way to lose pounds (i'm american, we don't use the metric system of 10's, we use the norse-viking system of 12's) from your stomach is actually RUNNING, not sit-ups.
the science of it would take too long and too difficult for me to try to go into.
sit-ups is more for your stomach muscles, not your stomach bulge of fat.
if u jsut do sit-ups, you'll still have that bulging fat belly, but under that bulge of fat, u will have strong powerful muscles.
if u want to both lose the fat bulge and build muscles than u ahve to both run and do sit-ups.
as for a "six pack" thats just appearance and not my expertise. appearance is for body-muscle sculpturing person, not a strength person. i'm about strength, not looks. i have no idea how to make a person LOOK strong, i only know how to make a person BE strong. if only girls understood this... oh well...most males don't either. LOOKING strong is NOT BEING strong. two completely different things.
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if you wanna know how to do the proper sit-up:
1. lay down on the floor-ground with your back touching it, so that u are looking up and not into the ground-floor
2. feet and knees together.
3. rear is touching your heels/back of your feet or lower legs/the achilles area. this should cause your legs to be bent at the knees. (move-slide your rear and feet together so that they are touching)
4. arms and hands crossed so that they make an X over your upper chest. (your hands should be resting on your opposite shoulders if u do this right). this should never change. always keep your hands and arms in this position.
5. your chin should be pressing against your chest or lower throat. must keep your chin pressed against your chest or lower throat at all times during the entire sit-up(s).
6. squeeze your legs together AND squeeze-tighten your lower stomach (belly area). if u do this right, you should feel your lower back pressing into the floor or ground trying to break through it. this is what raises you for the "sit-up" AND strenthens your stomach muscles.
7. lay back down and repeat as much as u want or can.
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there's 4 types of sit-ups. 2 of them can be combined into the other 2 types:
power vs conditioning:
1. power sit-up: muscle speed-force-"power"
u try to "sit-up" as fast as u can with your arms-chest touching (well hitting) your legs' thighs as many as u can in a given time or as long as u can.
VERY IMPORTANT: the above proper sit-up technique does NOT change.
when doing a power sit up, it is especially important to keep your legs pressed together, your feet together, you rear and feet touching (in doing power sit-ups, u WILL slide apart if doing it right, so you'll have to quickly move your rear back against your feet), your arms crossed and against your chest, and most important of all your chin PRESSED to your chest or lower throat.
think of a power sit up as trying to "headbutt" some one or doing an offensive header in soccer/futbol if u know the sport.
if u have some one anchoring your feet down, they better not lean forward, because in a power sit-up your snapping up and you'll smash their face with your forehead probably breaking their nose or knocking their teeth out.
u want this explosive force when doing a power sit-up. u wanna snap up with tremendous force and energy. POWER.
this proper sit-up technique or form protects u from injury, allowing u to do power sit-ups with 99% safety.
2. conditioning sit up: muscle endurance
u don't care about power. you do the sit-ups SLOWLY, making u have to "hold" your self sitting up and as u come down SLOWLY. this causes u to use and strengthen your muscles but doesn't train them for power like the power sit-up.
"all the way up" vs "crunch":
3. "all the way up" sit up:
this is simply coming up so that your arms-chest touch your legs' thighs. your entire back should be OFF the ground-floor when your arms-chest touch your leg's thighs
4. "crunch" sit up:
u simply squeeze-tighten your lower stomach, which should raise your upper back jsut slightly off the ground-floor. you lower back should and must be pressing against the ground-floor. if your lower back is off the ground-floor or not pressing hard against it, you've come up to far.
u than hold this position, as long as u can or want to. u lay back down to rest. than when your ready and if u wanna go again, u do so.
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if u wanna strengthen your legs too and want uber "pain" lift your feet off the ground and straighten your legs out, holding them just off the ground while u hold your upper back jsut off the ground.
*grins* i know u feel the burn, if u doing it right. *grins*
ps, you really feel the burn if u got big strong thick legs...man, they are heavy...oh the burn!
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as for how long it woud take, that depends on how intense or not u work at it, and also how comitted (doing it EVERY DAY) or not commited u are.
