'Basic ab workout for dummies" - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

hotterice8 · 07-30-2006, 09:34 PM

just bought this dvd and well, i felt no burning my my abs when i did it. my legs burned through some of these moves, my arms hurt from trying to do planks...aren't i supposed to feel my abs burn? or is it that i have to wait a few days and the soreness will kick in? maybe you don't have to have your abs burn to have them working? i dont know but i spent 20 bucks on this dvd because it was the basic beyond basic ab dvd that was supposed to break evrything down for beginners and i felt no ab burning at all. ***?

Willapp · 07-31-2006, 07:36 AM

Muscle burning isn't an indication of having worked them successfully. Generally you only get sore muscles after exercise if the exercise was incredibly intense, you haven't worked out those muscles before or things like dehydration is supposed to have an effect.

Thing is, you use your ab muscles all the time (they are part of your 'core' muscles that you use just standing up) so you can expect them to be in fairly good shape which could explain why you don't get a "burn" from exercising them. I don't either, unless I do weighted sit-ups with a pretty high weight.

Keep working at it, and try and judge on long term results, not on whether you get a "burn" or not as it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

hotterice8 · 07-31-2006, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willapp

Muscle burning isn't an indication of having worked them successfully. Generally you only get sore muscles after exercise if the exercise was incredibly intense, you haven't worked out those muscles before or things like dehydration is supposed to have an effect.

Thing is, you use your ab muscles all the time (they are part of your 'core' muscles that you use just standing up) so you can expect them to be in fairly good shape which could explain why you don't get a "burn" from exercising them. I don't either, unless I do weighted sit-ups with a pretty high weight.

Keep working at it, and try and judge on long term results, not on whether you get a "burn" or not as it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Thank you for the help. So many people have so many opinions. Some are like "go for the burn!" others just say do this or that many reps. Which to me is easier because sometimes I will be doing like 50 crunches and not really feeling it, and then I think it's not working. I will just try my best to do the dvd along with pilates and my usual cardio and see what happens. Are your legs supposed to burn during exersises like the bicycle by the way? Because mine tend to.

Willapp · 08-01-2006, 02:55 AM

Yes, your legs can hurt doing bicycles!

One thing people seem to forget about working abs is that they're just like any other muscle - you need to keep increasing the resistance in order to continue to make progress. Doing bodyweight-only exercises, such as sit-ups, crunches etc will only get you so far. If you have access to some weights, try doing sit ups whilst holding a weight disc on your chest. This will increase the work your abs have to do in order to lift your body up, and may give you the "burn" you're looking for. Even if it doesn't, it will give your abs a more intensive workout.