thanks one last question is the ab wheel better then sit up crunches or should you still do those also (do they target different areas)
thanks one last question is the ab wheel better then sit up crunches or should you still do those also (do they target different areas)
Put simply: it is a superior exercise. It targets more of your core (which is a surprisingly expansive, layered musculature), is more functional (by that I mean the specific movement translates better to sport-specific function), and offers greater degrees of potential challenge and stimulus.
If you are a novice lifter, almost any stimulus will give you good results. It's why the before/afters for a lot of products are ridiculous, or why people get deluded into thinking what they were doing as a magic potion. Lifting a 6 pack will improve bicep and general arm strength in many.
Almost any time new stimulus is introduced, you will reap nice results, especially if you are a novice lifter (note: you can be great at a sport, in nice shape etc, and still be a novice when it comes to lifting and a linear progression exercise model).
Personally, I still do crunches as a finisher to some core workout routines -- eg, 50 bicycle kick crunches at the very end, as a burnout/finisher.
I do them more for mental toughness purposes, and for the variety which I enjoy.
Sit up can be good; they are often done to good effect with added resistance, since a lot of core routines are done bodyweight, being able to add rather heavy weight/resistance to a movement is good -- more variety, new stimulus.
Long answer to your question....but you should definitely do more than just ab wheel roll outs. If you just do ab wheel roll outs your core will receive a big overall improvement,
but in time, you will simply become an ab wheel specialist, and your growth/progression will stall to a greater degree than need be.
I'd pick a handful of different, quality core exercises and make circuits out of them -- you perform 3-5 exercises, rest a minute or so, and do 3 sets, eg.
It'll be easy to make the routines progressively more difficult and suited to your needs and goals, starting with something novice, and working up.
EDIT -- what you want to get out of your fitness matters most, too. if you wanna be an all-around animal, or if you have a specific sport or task in mind, etc. Most people are too weak, though, I'll say that with 100% confidence...even ppl who are very well conditioned and reasonably strong, hit major walls and fall short of their overall potential and progression bc they lack a true stength base.
Np man.
Equipment hmm....
Ab Wheel
Exercise Mat or two, ideally a big one.
Pullup/Pushup bar (ones that mount to a door....can get them cheap off ebay or craigslist, and they work quite well).
Resistance Bands (can get pretty heavy ones, and not pricy if you get used)
Look into "burpees" for an exercise, one legged squats, pushup and pullup variatins, stuff you can do w/ the resistance bands, etc.
"Never Gymless" is a really good book too for "weight free" exercise programs. Prolly worth investing in that book, IMO...or try to find the exercises/programs in it somehow.
Best fitness investment I made was a gym membership....
but the #2 investment was a pullup bar that mounts in any standard door frame. Cost me $30 at walmart and I just left it in the door all the time. Bang out a few pull ups every other day and you will see a big difference in your arms, sholders and back. The bar can also be placed on the ground and used for push-up/dips. Between all of that it's pretty much a full upperbody workout in one piece of equipment. Resistance bands might be a good investment for someone that has difficulty doing 1 pull-up. I started out that way tho and with consistent work on the pull-up bar I can now do 10 reps unassisted.
Burpee's are a great conditioning exercise. Do as many as you can in a minute then take a breather and go again. "Pistols" (one legged squats) are great for leg strength. If you have difficulty with them start off with body weight squats then put a chair behind you and rest one leg's toes on that and squat with the other. eventually working your way to the pistol.
Along with the ab wheel you are looking at you can have a full body workout at home for well under $50. I just prefer going to the gym because I like to move big weights and use their cardio equipment. It also gets me out of the office for an hour and all of that helps with motivation to work out, which was my biggest issue with working out at home. Good luck with it!
Bikes are fine. Don't overthink things too much, ya know -- paralysis by analysis.
Pretty much anything is good if you train hard (most important), and smart (which I'll define as not just doing the same thing over and over, but always making sure you are making some form of progress, which you can track through any sort of performance metric).
If you just want general fitness, as it seems, the book "Never Gymless" is probably the best investment you could make. It includes a really good, easy to follow 50day program, and tons of well defined exercises, and prior to that language written so many can understand as to why you do what you do (to help you think for yourself ultimately when it comes to exercise).
this is a cool thread, props to fitness-conscious KO posters!
May not be related to fitness but I got my first amatuer fight of the year this Saturday ill let you guys know how I do. So far my amatuer record is (1-0)
Btw, just to add an update to this thread: after a full 6month layoff due to sports injury, I'm back at the gym.
Doing a program that I would recommend above pretty much anything else out there for anyone who wants/needs to gain a legit base of strength, and size.
Starting weight for me is 215 (guesstimated bf% 18, maybe as high as 20, height 6ft flat). 3month goal: 240 weight, w/o gaining more than 5% bf, ideally only 2-3%.
Big part of the program (at least insofar as going for max strength gains and trying to put on weight) is that I'll be drinking a gallon of whole milk every day for the 3months.
After that, I'm dropping the milk, but staying on a similar strength program (but jacking up the general difficulty and complexity to continue linear strength gains for another month or so), while slowly starting to shed a bit of weight and getting my conditioning base back.
Following that, it's back to my usual hybrid fight/sport slanted programming....heavy conditioning and a mix of strength exercises. Hopefully end my weight/body composition back at 220, maybe all the way back to 215 even.
Reached my goal today. I did 100 squats. First set 12, second set 16, third set 72. While I was at it I did 112 consecutive sit-ups after, also a new record.
After those squats I got a throbbing headache again, which lasted about twenty something minutes. Eventually I felt like I was gonna throw up, but I didn't, felt good, and was able to eat dinner.
Don't think I'll be doing that many squats again anytime soon.
hey Cool, would of def sent out an invite, but the fight was in Massenna NY, 7 hours away from the boogie down.
A lot of controversy in my first fight. Landed more jabs and power shots, but got the loss decision. Learning experience. My trainer is the Isiah Thomas of trainers, I didn't get time to warm up nor wasn't ready when my bout began (my trainer was unaware of when it was going to start). Also my trainer didn't do his research and they matched me in the 178lb weight class against a guy who was 8-0 with years of experience.
I'm only 165 lbs, and thats always been the weight class I fight at...they tipped the scales and claimed I weight 167lbs.
I was on the attack in the first round, and started countering him in the second round. Inexperienced fighters don’t start throwing until their opponents throw first. The guy I face was 6"2 and well over 190lbs, but lacked stamina and any real power. But I knew I had to throw a lot of shots to even get close to the scorecards. I had the fight won, but I guess the judges didn't count my straight right counters to the score card.
Well even the guy I faced told me he didn't won that fight.
Throughout all the bull****, I got a medal for my efforts.
I can't wait to get back into the ring. I have so much work to do. I love this journey. Determined to be the best... and better than that. I have a lot of power. Now I will work to skill and perfect it to efficient utilization.
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