if muscles are stronger arent they bigger and will look bulky???
im asking because situps make muscles in ur stomach stronger


if muscles are stronger arent they bigger and will look bulky???
im asking because situps make muscles in ur stomach stronger





Ab muscles don't hypertrophy (get bigger) like other muscles in the body (like biceps or quads). If you want to get your waist smaller and stomach flatter, it's most important to "pull in" and use your transverse abdominis.
For the "washboard," crunches and variations of the crunch are great.


Great!! What about the ab machines at the gym, will those help with flatter tummy too??







i've found that what made my tummy flatter was just loosing the fat...the whole workout and count your calories thing.
And even though I do all kinds of sit-ups, and stuff on that slanted padded board that almost looks like you're doing sit-ups near upsidedown, I never had any ab bulky issues. Neither with pilates ab work. So Ahmeerah is totally right.
If you're worried about bulking up in general, when it comes to other working out, stay away from heavy weight lifting, or those leg press machines, etc... I noticed bulkiness when I used those things, and it wasn't flattering to my particular figure. It depends on every woman. But I guess if you're actually loosing at as you're increasing your weights workout stuff..then you woulldn't really see bulking up that much, because the fat loss is compensating for any increase in muscle size...
And i've had sooo many personal trainers bs me on how no, weight lifting won't bulk me up. Well, maybe their definition of bulking up is looking like the Hulk...and in that case it's obvious I wouldn't get that big lol! But my definition of bulking up is much less extreme... to the point that using the word "bulking" is misleading...
I just look too masculine with even slightly- muscular arms, and the weight lifting exercises past trainers insisted I do and made me do, against what I was saying, did make my arms look waay too defined. I like the long lithe look, just because nothing else works on my figure. I like my arms to be "toned," though (from yoga, but even still I don't do full push-ups involved in yoga class). If they don't have a teeny bit of muscle tone. You can get toned also through pilates.
So I guess don['t totally shy away from weight-bearing exercises. I do lunges and squats, and they help keep my metabolism up. yes, they added a little bit to my muscle, but as I lost the fat it wasn't an issue at all, and they look fine. Just avoid stuff involving using machines...just be good at using your own body weight as resistance..like in yoga and pilates.





^^^ and polework (bodyweight exercise)!
Although, depending on your body type, doing TOO many sit ups can make your waist look thicker.
You should make sure you do sit ups, side crunches, and reverse crunches to equally tone all parts of the core. Otherwise, you're just working out for back pain.
Is there a way to do a reverse crunch on the floor, without hanging over a bench-like thing? I'd like to add reverses to my own little routine but honestly not if this means I have to walk into the weight-lifting area, which some days looks like a prison yard. I don't wanna be nobody's bitch.
You lay flat on the floor (face down). You put your hands behind your head...keep you legs flat on the floor and lift your chest off the floor. Don't arch your back, but lift up as straight as you can. Hold for one second and then slowly lower back to the floor. You can also do reverse crunches on a balance ball.


adding on to the whole transverse thing - if you want to get a good workout isolating those muscles, you should look into Pilates/Yoga
in addition, muscle takes up less room than fat (although it is denser) so if you gain muscle, your scale may influx but you will appear to be much more trim and tone. also, adding muscle to your body will help you burn calories even when you're not working out.
good luck!
i been trying to work out my abs and read this post, thanks for all the tips. i will try them out too =]





Abdominal muscles will indeed hypertrophy if you train them to do so. So will the obliques. Which will make your mid-section look bigger. Thus, if you have fat in the mid-section, hypertrophied abdominals and obliques will make you look even thicker there.
That said, situps are worthless for the most part. Do some hanging knee/leg raises, find a partner and do some janda situps, whatever. For this crowd, I recommend the hanging leg raise, since it replicates some of your pole moves anyway.
Another goodie are suitcase style deadlifts. Keep the weight high but the volume low to avoid hypertrophy. The tonus will be sexy, there is no real need to make them bigger, barring providing cushion if you expect to get hit there a lot.
Doing vacuums will indeed tuck your abdominal wall in, a worthwhile exercise, especially for those with distended stomachs(almost all of us, unfortunately).
Hanging Leg Raise
The goal is to touch your feet to the bar, but start off just doing knee raises until you get there.
Suitcase or Side Deadlift:
Pretty decent form there. It gets tricky with more weight, good grip practice.
Do your back a favor and forget the situps.
Suggested way to utilize the exercises:
2 sets of 5 reps for each, as many days as you can afford to do them.
Don't go over 5 reps or 2 sets a session.
If you have the equipment to do them daily, be your guest.
You can do a million situps but the only way your tummy will get "flatter" is by losing weight. Situps will make it look better once the weight is gone, but you can't spot reduce fat except by lipo (but look at Tara Reid...better to just lose the weight.
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