I restarted using free weights for my arms/upper body ... and I do various things for my legs as well.
I wanted some excercises for my stomach area, but here is the thing. I am over 250 pounds, and when I try to do things like the bicycle crunches and stuff like that .... I cannot because my belly is physically in the way
Right now I do sit ups, but I have heard that they are not very effective and can cause back injury ... which is already a problem I have from an accident.
Does anyone else have this problem, and if so, how have you worked around it? Are there any good ab exercises that avoids this problem??
The exercise which does the most for my stomach area and doesn't hurt me to do is to take a 5 pound weight (I especially like the soft Danskin balls but a regular barbell weight will work too), lie on my back on a bench with the weight in both hands, and bring the weight up over my head backwards and very gently bounce it as it goes behind my head, then back up. I love doing this one as it feels soooooo good, stretches my muscles nicely AND does really seem to work on the stomach and ab area.
Another idea which I like... if you have access to a pool try hooking your knees on a noodle, holding your hands out to the sides balanced by water weights, and do crunches.
When I was around 260 I started out slowly doing crunches and worked my way up to about 500 throught the day.. They really worked for me and actually made my back feel better.... What helped I think was I would prop my feet on the couch or a chair and do them that way, I really felt like I worked all my muscles..
I too have trouble with crunches, but in my case it's because of my rear end, which makes it difficult to lie on my back without arching it. A dance DVD I have has you do ab exercises just like crunches while standing. It requires real concentration, because you have to make sure you're not moving with momentum or just swinging your head and shoulders forward, but actually contracting your lower ab muscles to make your torso move forward. I can really feel it when I slow down enough to focus on the motion, and it doesn't hurt my back at all.
I have the bally fitness pulley system. You hook it on a doorknob, and wrap the handles around your feet and hands. As you lower your arm the leg comes up. You have to be careful that you aren't relying completely on your arms, but it really is a great core workout.
My belly gets in the way of alot of exercises too. The important thing is that we keep doing them, eventually our bellies won't be a problem! Even an exercise done 1/2 way is still an exercise!
When I was around 260 I started out slowly doing crunches and worked my way up to about 500 throught the day.. They really worked for me and actually made my back feel better.... What helped I think was I would prop my feet on the couch or a chair and do them that way, I really felt like I worked all my muscles..
Sometimes I'm really dumb - I've never thought about propping my feet up on the sofa/a chair. I tend to hook them under the radiator right now but that means I get achey toes lol
I have such a bad back that I couldn't stand up straight for over 12 years and spent 8 of them in a wheelchair. I used sit up to strengthen my back and ab muscles enough to be able to straighten up and start walking again. I did them on my bed with my back propped by pillows in the small of my back with my back up about 30 degrees. Do them with your feet apart to make room for you stomach, and do not put you hands behind your neck. That's what can cause injury to your neck like a whiplash. I do them just touching my toes as quickly as possible so that it also has aerobic qualities.
I'm going to try and explain what my husband suggested for me. (Oooh-rah Marine Corp physical fitness!)
Lay flat on your back on the floor with your legs straight and tuck your hands under your bum. Then, keeping your legs together and straight (I also point my toes but he never mentioned that), lift your legs up to a 90 degree angle (straight up in the air) and lower them down without touching the floor. Do this as many times as you can before letting your feet hit the floor.
I can only do ten reps at a time and by set three I'm struggling to finish ten.
But it's an awesome workout for the lower tummy pouch! I do those plus regular sit-ups (I can't sit all the way up yet so I just make sure my shoulders lift from the floor with each one) and I get the good burn in my upper abs and lower abs.
What Marine said to do is a great exercise, but difficult for people whose back has a tendency to arch! A weight put on the tummy will help during this exercise. I would not recommend anyone do this if you have back troubles as it can aggravate it.
As someone said before, never ever put your hands behind your neck!!! That can cause a nasty injury.
Embarassing Ab Question
