I feel my waistline is creeping up a bit. Whats he best way other than just diet to tighten it up a little.

I have been doing very little to no ab specific work recently and although my core feels strong, it feels a little "slack" if you know what i mean by that.

What would be a good ab/core workout to help with this? I would like to do some ab/core specific work a couple of times a week.

Rab

To tighten the muscles of the waistline, I've found that for me the most effective exercises are those which work the core rather than those which are ab specific - things like overhead squats, power cleans and front squats all performed with a little part of your concentration on keeping the abs tight.

Having said that, I suspect you are looking more for ab specific stuff so crunches or sit-ups on an incline, hanging or roman chair leg raises (with a real peak contraction and hold at the top) and possibly stomach vacumes. I wouldn't do weighted ab work as your waist can get blocky very quickly!

Planks and Side Planks work the inner core very well.

Also when working abs try and do constant sets of different variations with little rest rather than the traditional 3 x set/rest, then move onto the next exercise.

Found this circuit worked well for me.

Plank (hold for 60 secs) > Lying Leg Raise to Ab Thrust > Swiss Ball Crunches (start hyperextended and finish horizontal)

Do 3 or 4 circuits of these (take a minutes rest after each circuit) and you'll be burning in no time and feeling tight.

gayble crunches are a good option.

Front & overhead squats and deadlifts (different types, but Romanian are my favourite) are best for core work. Much better than plank work plus you get your legs worked too

For specific ab work try hanging garhammer raises if you can.
The Swiss-ball jacknife is good too.
Rope pulldown can be used in various ways

Front squats are immense... haven't really had a good go at overheads yet

I don't think deadlifts are much good for tightening the waistline though... as in making it smaller? I think with the heavy loads possible with deadlifts they're more likely to thicken the trunk than shrink it?

yes, im looking for ab specific stuff. i do plenty core lifting like deadlifts etc which you can feel working the abs and building the thickness of them. im after a little routine or two to incorperate to tighen it up a little.

ill experiment with some ab circuits this week and see how that feels.

anyone care to add to this list of ab exercises that woud be suitable?

crunches
reverse crunches
planks
rope crunches
knee raises
Knee raise sit-ups (dont know there proper name)
decline situps
side bends

bare in mind its a spit and sawdust gaff. swiss balls are not on the agends as a necesary piece of

cheers

Rab

I like reverse crunches for the lower abs. I'm not sure on the name of this (if there is one) but I'll do a kind of leg raise, into reverse crunch and lift up onto my shoulder blades, then keeping on shoulder blades lower my legs back down to form an arch... very tough!

Only example I can think of is Rocky in Rocky IV when he's training before fighting drago

A good superset for obliques are cable send bends. You need a high and low cable for this. Do pulling side bends from the lower cable, then immediately into pushing side bends from higher cable... that stings a bit I can tell you

Bison wrote:I don't think deadlifts are much good for tightening the waistline though... as in making it smaller? I think with the heavy loads possible with deadlifts they're more likely to thicken the trunk than shrink it?

title says "Tightening The waistline", not making it smaller

health4ni wrote:

Bison wrote:I don't think deadlifts are much good for tightening the waistline though... as in making it smaller? I think with the heavy loads possible with deadlifts they're more likely to thicken the trunk than shrink it?

title says "Tightening The waistline", not making it smaller

I could have explained a bit better...i did mean to tighten with the idea of making it smaller. my bad!

i measured last night and m waist is 33" around the belly button. i think this could be a little better without even dieting as i feel a little slack around the core and i think ab specific work could help. ive been neglecting that side of things for a while.

i do think my obliques have gotten allot thicker over the past several months adding to the waist size. im going to avoid doing heavy deadlifts too often as this is probably the main cause of this.

cheers for the replys

Rab

are you looking to do a physique show?

if not then why worry that your trunk area looks big/thick etc? It'll mean you are stronger.

tbh best bet is to lose some excess body fat from that area. Try to manage the cortisol hormone as that tends to put fat in that area (belly button area). Magnesium is a must of anyone anyway imo and so you'd defo benefit. To slim the suprailiac area (love handle area) try reducing simple carbs.

Rab wrote:

health4ni wrote:

Bison wrote:I don't think deadlifts are much good for tightening the waistline though... as in making it smaller? I think with the heavy loads possible with deadlifts they're more likely to thicken the trunk than shrink it?

title says "Tightening The waistline", not making it smaller

I could have explained a bit better...i did mean to tighten with the idea of making it smaller. my bad!

i measured last night and m waist is 33" around the belly button. i think this could be a little better without even dieting as i feel a little slack around the core and i think ab specific work could help. ive been neglecting that side of things for a while.

i do think my obliques have gotten allot thicker over the past several months adding to the waist size. im going to avoid doing heavy deadlifts too often as this is probably the main cause of this.

cheers for the replys

Rab

I thought that spot reduction was near impossible... fat comes off wherever and usually the gut last - I can see the point there as that's where I'm finding it most stubborn. Maybe add a little more cardio into the mix to burn it up and do the ab work to tighten it up. Maybe I'm over-simplifying the situation but I'm not as advanced as you guys.

Maybe try some hydroxycut...

Try running a course of X-Lean or somehing...

Bison wrote:I like reverse crunches for the lower abs. I'm not sure on the name of this (if there is one) but I'll do a kind of leg raise, into reverse crunch and lift up onto my shoulder blades, then keeping on shoulder blades lower my legs back down to form an arch... very tough!

Only example I can think of is Rocky in Rocky IV when he's training before fighting drago

A good superset for obliques are cable send bends. You need a high and low cable for this. Do pulling side bends from the lower cable, then immediately into pushing side bends from higher cable... that stings a bit I can tell you

I know what you mean and I used to do tonnes of these but replaced with the Leg Raise to Ab Thrust variety.

I'd imagine It may be interesting to try alternating reps of both of these in a set.

health4ni wrote:are you looking to do a physique show?

if not then why worry that your trunk area looks big/thick etc? It'll mean you are stronger.

tbh best bet is to lose some excess body fat from that area. Try to manage the cortisol hormone as that tends to put fat in that area (belly button area). Magnesium is a must of anyone anyway imo and so you'd defo benefit. To slim the suprailiac area (love handle area) try reducing simple carbs.

no, not planning on anything like that, im just becoming aware that my waist is becoming thicker. im obviously getting much stronger aswell which is imoprtaint. i just dont want to get to blocky around the waist relative to the size of my shoulders etc. aesthetics are just as importaint to me as strength gains and i think i could improve on my waist, whilst still getting a little stronger

i dont plan on dieting per-se, but i will be upping my activity level over the next few weeks whilst keeping my calories about the same. i plan on getting into a bit better condition and tightening my waist up with exercises and possibly a little fat loss is part of the target.

ill have a look into the magnesium and ill have a look at those products Upright

Cheers

Rab

I have a friend at work who does strongman training and is hoping to compete this year. Although in the past he used to be more concerned with appearance and in his words hydroxycut is "good swag" That's just one guys opinion and obviously one product will vary in results for every person but I think it's worth a look - I was considring it - another friend of mine just got a tub and I had a look at it, it's loaded as a stim as well so maybe good combined with good burn sessions. I don't think you have anyhing to lose in going for the lactic acid weights sessions like Simon, Maybe just 2 days a week like 2 heavy low reps/2 light sessions at high reps - depends on your priorites... It's like someone posted up here the other week "chase 2 rabbits and you'll catch none" which I like and has really made me consider reeling in my hap-hazzrd thinking.

Grow some shoulders to make your waist look smaller

Gym-pig wrote:Grow some shoulders to make your waist look smaller

yes...your right.

although i need to be carefull i dont end up like you and let my waist grow wider than my chest

Wider gut means better stability when squatting.. i readed it on MeProteinInnit.com

Hydroxycut is one of the better main stream "fat burners/eaters" available as much as I hate to praise a MuscleTech product.

Rab wrote:

Gym-pig wrote:Grow some shoulders to make your waist look smaller

yes...your right.

although i need to be carefull i dont end up like you and let my waist grow wider than my chest

Damn I hate it when you have a witty reply ! 1-1 !

Gym-pig wrote:Grow some shoulders to make your waist look smaller

I think Rab wants to look like the Rilla, and for that reason alone, he has stopped training shoulders.

Rilla wrote:

Gym-pig wrote:Grow some shoulders to make your waist look smaller

I think Rab wants to look like the Rilla, and for that reason alone, he has stopped training shoulders.

A camp Australian gladiator look-a-like??

YES PLEASE!!!

You might only need something as simple as stretching rab. Make sure you've got your pelvic tilt sorted.

As for abs, it's all been covered...I find vacuums and chins with a 20kg db between your feet does the trick (just be mindful to contract with lower abs and not hip flexors).