Question on core training

[csilvia9]

Hi I am new to this forum so I will give a little background. I am 42 and have been a paraplegic since birth. I just started to lift about 5 months ago. My reasons for starting were to get in better shape. I have really started to enjoy lifting a lot. I have a good friend who got me started and is working with me weekly. Most of my exercises have been trial an error. It's been fun trying to adapt things that I can do. Anyway my question. My big problem is my gut. Does anyone have any suggestions for this area. I know I can never really get a six pack but would like to reduce it as much as possible. Without being able to do crunches and situps and all that I really don't know if there is much I can do. THank you for any help

Christopher

[Patrick]

Hi I am new to this forum so I will give a little background. I am 42 and have been a paraplegic since birth. I just started to lift about 5 months ago. My reasons for starting were to get in better shape. I have really started to enjoy lifting a lot. I have a good friend who got me started and is working with me weekly. Most of my exercises have been trial an error. It's been fun trying to adapt things that I can do. Anyway my question. My big problem is my gut. Does anyone have any suggestions for this area. I know I can never really get a six pack but would like to reduce it as much as possible. Without being able to do crunches and situps and all that I really don't know if there is much I can do. THank you for any help

Christopher

Hey Christopher, it's mainly diet, eat offten, drink water or suger free drinks, no fast food, if you have to, keep it to 1 bad meal, small, a week. drink lots!!, you have to stay on, protein drinks 3 a day or 4 or 5. if you wake up in the middle of the night, drink one. 3 meals inbetween. light, light on carbs, heavy on protein and greens. how ever you train abs, twice or 3 times a week.

[csilvia9]

Hey Christopher, it's mainly diet, eat offten, drink water or suger free drinks, no fast food, if you have to, keep it to 1 bad meal, small, a week. drink lots!!, you have to stay on, protein drinks 3 a day or 4 or 5. if you wake up in the middle of the night, drink one. 3 meals inbetween. light, light on carbs, heavy on protein and greens. how ever you train abs, twice or 3 times a week.

Thanks Patrick. I should have posted my diet, I really try to eat as healthy as possible. Curretly I do about 1 to 2 protein drinks a day. Try to go easy on the carbs and always eat logs of veggies. It's hard to know exactly what to do. I am trying to build muscle so I know I need to keep the calories on the upside It's just hard seeing gains in muscle mass and having a big gut.
What do you recomend for ab training?

[Patrick]

Thanks Patrick. I should have posted my diet, I really try to eat as healthy as possible. Curretly I do about 1 to 2 protein drinks a day. Try to go easy on the carbs and always eat logs of veggies. It's hard to know exactly what to do. I am trying to build muscle so I know I need to keep the calories on the upside It's just hard seeing gains in muscle mass and having a big gut.
What do you recomend for ab training?

Protein/ amino acids build/ building blocks for muscle, so up the protein, some veggies are carbs, corn, black beans, pinto beans, carrots, peas, so remember that.
Abs, AB rocker on the bed, crunch machines at the gym, do sets without rest, 3 sets 15 then 4th/last set lighter, 20 reps.
lower abs/ on floor and/or feet on bench, lift hips, same reps/sets.

It's hard to tell what you can/ can not do, so do what you can, then do what you can't.

[Arkanzan Wheeler]

I am just starting to get control back of some of my upper ab muscles, being a T10 SCI I was hoping to be able to keep at least my abs in good shape but now they have formed into a gut which I hate. Since I am getting some control I have been starting to do half crunches I guess you could call them in bed. I know it is no much but right now it is something. I can not afford a gym but I seen "Ab Rocker" mentioned, is that the thing on TV or a exercise? Thanks

[Titans]

You can lose a gut without cardio and ab workouts. Ab workouts are meant to train the abs as a muscle group to make them defined or larger and not target the area for fat burning. I know guys who are super lean but they over train there abs and not a single one pops out. You have to get the overall body fat % down to see abs and thats when it's all about diet and exercise. You need to be in a calorie deficit and you need the right combination of calories. I lost my gut with a good diet and weight training. I didn't do ab workouts...actually I didn't do ab workouts until the end after I had lost all the weight and my stomach was flat.

I think I read somewhere that acheiving your physical goals is 80% diet and 20% exercise?

:)

[Arkanzan Wheeler]

Thanks for the response, I am working on the diet and I was seeing if there was anything to make the gut go flat faster...

[csilvia9]

I am just starting to get control back of some of my upper ab muscles, being a T10 SCI I was hoping to be able to keep at least my abs in good shape but now they have formed into a gut which I hate. Since I am getting some control I have been starting to do half crunches I guess you could call them in bed. I know it is no much but right now it is something. I can not afford a gym but I seen "Ab Rocker" mentioned, is that the thing on TV or a exercise? Thanks

I'm glad other people are having the same problem. I really can't do a crunch, can get my head off the floor and maybe just the start of my shoulders. A lot more than I use to be able to do. I am able to contract my upper ab muscles. I also have started using an EMS to try and tone my abs a bit. Now for the diet, I already eat pretty healthy so Im thinking of trying a fat burner. I have seen the Ab Rocker on TV but was not sure if I would be able to get anything from it.
I have aslo seen some ab gadgets that have you sit an twist back and forth. Does anyone think these do anything for you? I have an apointment to see a dr this week just to asses my situation and see how much fat I have and what I can loose. Until then I will try and stay focused on what I can work on.

[Titans]

Whatever you do don't hurt yourself doing situps. My cousin has recently decided to get in shape and he plopped himself down and put out 40 situps with his feet anchored which suprised the heck out of him. He ended up tearing a muscle and not even knowing it until later when the pain creeped in. His theory is that his ab muscles were so weak that it used secondary muscles and his hip flexors to do all the work which put too much stress on whichever muscle tore in his back (so he says) the doctor told him he thinks too much and that he just tore a muscle. haha

[TheBeastWCBB]

Hi I am new to this forum so I will give a little background. I am 42 and have been a paraplegic since birth. I just started to lift about 5 months ago. My reasons for starting were to get in better shape. I have really started to enjoy lifting a lot. I have a good friend who got me started and is working with me weekly. Most of my exercises have been trial an error. It's been fun trying to adapt things that I can do. Anyway my question. My big problem is my gut. Does anyone have any suggestions for this area. I know I can never really get a six pack but would like to reduce it as much as possible. Without being able to do crunches and situps and all that I really don't know if there is much I can do. THank you for any help

Christopher
Getting a Six Pack is getting rid of excess bodyfat. The key is Nutrition - Reducing Carbs and bumping up your Protein. To get results even quicker you must use up excess bodyfat by doing cardio - how much??? Up to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week - 1 hour morning, 1 hour at night. Lifting will add muscle which will speed up your metabolism.

nj6c4VF3DD8

[TheBeastWCBB]

I am just starting to get control back of some of my upper ab muscles, being a T10 SCI I was hoping to be able to keep at least my abs in good shape but now they have formed into a gut which I hate. Since I am getting some control I have been starting to do half crunches I guess you could call them in bed. I know it is no much but right now it is something. I can not afford a gym but I seen "Ab Rocker" mentioned, is that the thing on TV or a exercise? Thanks
Do what you can on crunches, just bump up the reps to help contract the muscles when doing floor crunches - reps of 30-50 or hold weight on your chest or behind your head for additional resistance.
You can lose a gut without cardio and ab workouts. Ab workouts are meant to train the abs as a muscle group to make them defined or larger and not target the area for fat burning. I know guys who are super lean but they over train there abs and not a single one pops out. You have to get the overall body fat % down to see abs and thats when it's all about diet and exercise. You need to be in a calorie deficit and you need the right combination of calories. I lost my gut with a good diet and weight training. I didn't do ab workouts...actually I didn't do ab workouts until the end after I had lost all the weight and my stomach was flat.

I think I read somewhere that acheiving your physical goals is 80% diet and 20% exercise?

:)
Your Right! Ab training just builds the ab muscles. You can train abs all you want but untill you have a low % bodyfat you will never see your abs. Which that comes with diet and cardio.
Ratios is HIGH to diet when you want to see your abs to show.
I'm glad other people are having the same problem. I really can't do a crunch, can get my head off the floor and maybe just the start of my shoulders. A lot more than I use to be able to do. I am able to contract my upper ab muscles. I also have started using an EMS to try and tone my abs a bit. Now for the diet, I already eat pretty healthy so Im thinking of trying a fat burner. I have seen the Ab Rocker on TV but was not sure if I would be able to get anything from it.
I have aslo seen some ab gadgets that have you sit an twist back and forth. Does anyone think these do anything for you? I have an apointment to see a dr this week just to asses my situation and see how much fat I have and what I can loose. Until then I will try and stay focused on what I can work on.
You can do chair crunches but you must contract your abs as hard as you can and even hold them for harder contractions. Twist to the sides for obliques. The gadgets can work because it adds resistance on the ab muscles but you will not see your abs without diet and cardio. Bodyfat is nothing but stored energy and you must use that energy before the bodyfat goes away. When it goes away your midsection will get tighter and your abs will pop.

Whatever you do don't hurt yourself doing situps. My cousin has recently decided to get in shape and he plopped himself down and put out 40 situps with his feet anchored which suprised the heck out of him. He ended up tearing a muscle and not even knowing it until later when the pain creeped in. His theory is that his ab muscles were so weak that it used secondary muscles and his hip flexors to do all the work which put too much stress on whichever muscle tore in his back (so he says) the doctor told him he thinks too much and that he just tore a muscle. haha
Sounds like he went up like crazy to do whatever he can to do the crunch and that is reason. When doing crunches you don't have to go all the way up, just a half crunch to where your shoulders come off the floor or 3-4 inches forward if you are in the chair. You must contract and focus just on the ab muscles or you will work other muscles and that's not the point.
Diet is the key to making your abs pop!
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w79/nickscott_wheelchairbodybuilding/May2000-Meat300lbs11.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w79/nickscott_wheelchairbodybuilding/May2000-Meat300lbs4.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w79/nickscott_wheelchairbodybuilding/Photo5.jpg

[Arkanzan Wheeler]

It is pretty sad, I have gone through 2 semesters of college classes about the body and health and none of them talk about insulin as much as the 2 minute cartoon did...thanks. Learned something new.

Right now I am doing 30 crunches at a time at night, so in total I might do 30-120 crunches. Last time I weighed in I was about 200 lbs, so it is not as bad as the starting pic of Nick there. But I want to fix the problem now before I get there. How long did it take to drop all that weight or did you build the muscles to burn the fat?

Also, here are a few links that were on my Yahoo homepage that we might be able to adapt for us in chairs:
http://www.att.net/s/editorial.dll?eetype=Article&eeid=6483177&render=y&ck=&Table=&site=attportal&_lid=332&_lnm=yahoo+todayslink+easyfitness

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/gabbyguide/10841/what-to-eat-before-a-workout/

http://www.shape.com/workouts/articles/10_reasons_your_workouts_arent_working.html

[themanonwheels]

This is one of the hardest things for us wheelchair bbs... It's so true what they say about diet! The strickter the diet the better chance you have of showing abbs! I myself have the same problem. Trying to convert my diet from a powerlifter over to a bodybuilder, it's a challenge, but if you stick with it.... It'll pay off!! Keep your head up and keep pluggin away!!

[beachboy]

I have been doing 3 sets of 100 crunches on my bowflex with 40 pounds of resistance 6 days a week. Alot of people say thats good, alot say its bad. I want to know what the schwartzaneggars (accomplished bodybuilders) on here think.

[csilvia9]

I went to the doctor the other day. It was good news and bad news. What I thought was fat it not. He said just from sitting in the chair so long and the fact I have scoliosis everything inside is just pushing out. Good news I have very little body fat. So at least what I thought was a good diet turned out to be.
I worked with my trainer today and are going to find a way I can strengthen my core to maybe help my problem. So no six pack in my future but hopefully I can improve my situation a little.

[TheBeastWCBB]

It is pretty sad, I have gone through 2 semesters of college classes about the body and health and none of them talk about insulin as much as the 2 minute cartoon did...thanks. Learned something new.

Right now I am doing 30 crunches at a time at night, so in total I might do 30-120 crunches. Last time I weighed in I was about 200 lbs, so it is not as bad as the starting pic of Nick there. But I want to fix the problem now before I get there. How long did it take to drop all that weight or did you build the muscles to burn the fat?

Also, here are a few links that were on my Yahoo homepage that we might be able to adapt for us in chairs:
http://www.att.net/s/editorial.dll?eetype=Article&eeid=6483177&render=y&ck=&Table=&site=attportal&_lid=332&_lnm=yahoo+todayslink+easyfitness

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/gabbyguide/10841/what-to-eat-before-a-workout/

http://www.shape.com/workouts/articles/10_reasons_your_workouts_arent_working.html

When doing crunches make sure you focus and really try to contract the muscle, to get the 6 pack pop'en that comes with diet and cardio.

I lost most the weight in about a year (Summer of 99 to Summer of 2000) but I didn't know what I was doing with my diet. To get where I am today and my transformation - March 06 to Now. The summer of 2006 is when I really started studying the nutrition part of it and putting the fact to use lol.

[TheBeastWCBB]

I have been doing 3 sets of 100 crunches on my bowflex with 40 pounds of resistance 6 days a week. Alot of people say thats good, alot say its bad. I want to know what the schwartzaneggars (accomplished bodybuilders) on here think.
Abs is like any other muscle, you must break down the muscle fiber and then let it heal so the muscle can repair itself. When the muscle repairs itself that is when the muscle gets bigger and leaner. Your training the muscle way to much, only train abs 2-3 times a week. If you want to have a 6 pack focus more on diet and do cardio 6 days a week up to 2 hours a day. 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour at night.
I went to the doctor the other day. It was good news and bad news. What I thought was fat it not. He said just from sitting in the chair so long and the fact I have scoliosis everything inside is just pushing out. Good news I have very little body fat. So at least what I thought was a good diet turned out to be.
I worked with my trainer today and are going to find a way I can strengthen my core to maybe help my problem. So no six pack in my future but hopefully I can improve my situation a little.
What level of injury are you? Can you feel your stomach muscles? Even if the doctor says your inside is just pushing out, you still have abs on the outside and that the muscle can be built bigger to have a 6 pack. What was your % body fat? If the doctor says your "lean" that don't mean anything. Until you are tested don't go by what he says.

[csilvia9]

What level of injury are you? Can you feel your stomach muscles? Even if the doctor says your inside is just pushing out, you still have abs on the outside and that the muscle can be built bigger to have a 6 pack. What was your % body fat? If the doctor says your "lean" that don't mean anything. Until you are tested don't go by what he says.[/QUOTE]

Sine my injury occurred at birth I don’t really have an official reading on my level of paralysis.
Pretty much from the lower chest down I don’t have much control. I do have feeling in my
upper abs and can contract them. My friend felt around my mid section as I was doing different
movements and said he could definitely feel things moving. I think all these years because I could
not feel anything I didn’t think I could move those muscles. Because of this they never were developed.
I just need to figure out some exercises I can do to start getting things moving. After seeing what is
happening with my back development I have a glimmer of hope I may be able to do something for my
mid section.

[TheBeastWCBB]

Sine my injury occurred at birth I don’t really have an official reading on my level of paralysis.
Pretty much from the lower chest down I don’t have much control. I do have feeling in my
upper abs and can contract them. My friend felt around my mid section as I was doing different
movements and said he could definitely feel things moving. I think all these years because I could
not feel anything I didn’t think I could move those muscles. Because of this they never were developed.
I just need to figure out some exercises I can do to start getting things moving. After seeing what is
happening with my back development I have a glimmer of hope I may be able to do something for my
mid section.
That's exactly right! You never know! Try doing high pulley cruches, do them with the cable at the gym or if you are at home you can get the red or blue band at wal-mart and use a hindge or something and do them at home. It's worth a shot! Really try to focus and concentrate hard when crunching down and just keep at it for sometime. It's worth trying...

[csilvia9]

That's exactly right! You never know! Try doing high pulley cruches, do them with the cable at the gym or if you are at home you can get the red or blue band at wal-mart and use a hindge or something and do them at home. It's worth a shot! Really try to focus and concentrate hard when crunching down and just keep at it for sometime. It's worth trying...

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try and keep at it. Im going to try hard not to get frustrated with this because I think it may be some time before I see any reslults. Staying motivated is the hardest thing for me.

[Patrick]

I am just starting to get control back of some of my upper ab muscles, being a T10 SCI I was hoping to be able to keep at least my abs in good shape but now they have formed into a gut which I hate. Since I am getting some control I have been starting to do half crunches I guess you could call them in bed. I know it is no much but right now it is something. I can not afford a gym but I seen "Ab Rocker" mentioned, is that the thing on TV or a exercise? Thanks

I got mine at a gym store, it has elbow rest, looks like a upsidedown U.

[Patrick]

You can lose a gut without cardio and ab workouts. Ab workouts are meant to train the abs as a muscle group to make them defined or larger and not target the area for fat burning. I know guys who are super lean but they over train there abs and not a single one pops out. You have to get the overall body fat % down to see abs and thats when it's all about diet and exercise. You need to be in a calorie deficit and you need the right combination of calories. I lost my gut with a good diet and weight training. I didn't do ab workouts...actually I didn't do ab workouts until the end after I had lost all the weight and my stomach was flat.

I think I read somewhere that acheiving your physical goals is 80% diet and 20% exercise?

:)

I get what your saying, ya, your right, most of my day is diet and 10% is work out/ cardio.

[TheBeastWCBB]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try and keep at it. Im going to try hard not to get frustrated with this because I think it may be some time before I see any reslults. Staying motivated is the hardest thing for me.
That's the key, sticking with it. If one thing don't work, switch it up and keep at it until it does.

Doing shows and promoting the sport keeps me motivated. I want to be te best that I can be to give others hope and show them that it can be done.

[TheHeadHunter]

Great site Nick. I ran across this forum through a United Access video on Facebook.