Sit-ups aren't just for fitting into your pants, you know.
 

This is probably common knowledge to the more fit individuals on this forum but it's new to me. Ever since I started doing sit-ups and lifting weights again, recuperating from long hours of laying on my back and working under the car hasn't been too bad at all. I can tell that my abs are getting tighter under my blubber just because I can "sit-up" faster after laying on the ground so long.

My sole reason for getting back in the gym was so that I wouldn't have to buy another set of "fat clothes". Nice fringe benefits for DIY'ers, doing sit-ups.

Gotta work on my quads more because my knees hurt now. No funny business, just pain from kneeling on hard concrete.

Actually sit ups don't help to reduce your waste much. Walking, running or something else that burns calories & makes you breathe hard do the most. The exercise your stomach gets from hard breathing is much better exercise than sit ups.

the best thing you can do for your back is sit ups/crunches

Exactly. Unless you do a few thousand a day and then, the muscle growth will actually make your waist larger. :>)

There is no way to "spot reduce". The only way to make your waist smaller is to lose weight. The *only* way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume.

Very simple, really.

Mike

I concur!

The benefits from stups are not a thinner waist just tighter abs, which if there is not much covering the mucles results in a nice 6 pack (or 4 pack if your built that way) the obliques don't look bad either.

Like IROC said the way to reduce the size of the gut is diet and cardio. Weight lifting is a bonus, after your done lifting you continue to burn calories as you body works to heal.

The bigger the muscles get the easier it gets to burn off fat because a larger muscle uses more calories. As time goes on and muscles develop you'll see weight control is a lot easier.

Great 1st step Cantdrv55, keep up the good work. Your body will thank you in the long run.

Yes cardio is the best way to burn away the fat. It doesn't have to be real intense cardio either. A brisk 45 minute walk 5 days a week is all it takes. Sit-ups just make your abs stronger. I'm doing situps with a 45pound plate on my chest as part of a routine to strengthen my core (along with deadlifts, squats and bench press). But to burn the fat I do the 45 minute walk 5-6 days a week.

Strengthening your core muscles help with a lot of everyday activities.

That said, I'm an out-of-shape fat bastard.

Just do what the gastric bypass people do. Eat tiny little cups of mashed potatoes. I am pretty sure it would work with or without the actual gastric bypass if you can stick with it.....:)

Just joking.....exercise and a reasonable diet of good foods in moderation will always be better. Now to get back to it myself.....

Maybe I should be running and doing situps instead of browsing through PPOT.

Forgot to mention I'm supplementing with NAC, TTA, Sesathin and fish oil.

What are abs? :-)

So you don't crap less when you do sit ups?

oh, did you mean waist?

Strength in general is so important for everyday life. I'm not saying everyone needs to be like the governator once was, but not only will it make life easier, it will also make you less susceptible to physical injury.

just to split hairs, sit ups CAN in fact help you lose weight. The posts above are spot on, however, if you are at that threshold where you are taking in the same as what you are burning, then ANY extra excercise will help you lose weight. Situps won't make your stomach go away on their own unless they are the action that tips the scales in your favor.

I'm sticking to my 12oz curls for now though ;)


-Chris

I ran into this same thing like 2 months ago while buying jeans at Macys one day. The old sizes weren't fitting, so either Levi's effed up an entire store full of jeans or I was fat.

I decided to ride my bike to work, play soccer as much as possible, and eat vegetarian as well as cut out all the sugar I eat (sodas, more sodas, etc). I've probably lost 15lbs so far, never slept so well in my life :)

that would be my dream., to be able to ride a bike to work. i would take a paycut for that option. as it stands, i work 50 miles of hideous, traffic jammed, road raged, asphalt hell. i would die, in the first 5 miles, or be really really late for work.

does anyone have an idea for exercises that have the same impact on abs? I have had some back injuries in the past, and sit-ups kill my back yet I'd love to do some work on the abs to help with my sportbike riding

+1

also, stretching you hamstrings is a huge help...

Put your feet up on a couch and do your situps. This will take the pressure off of your lower back. I've got a bad lower back too and this seems to work for me. Luckily at my gym there is an ab bench that mimicks this position.

Check out a pilates book or class, great ab workout.

I'll give that a try. I used to use the large rubber balls at the gym for ab exercises, and that worked really well. however, I don't really relish the idea of another large object demanding storage in my house