Which one works the best? I used to go to the gym alot. Lately I've been a bum though. Plan on starting again seriously tomorrow. But I cant seem to get in any ab workouts ever at the gym. I get too tired, or play basketball or just get lazy. My plan is to get in about three weightlifting sessions, three games of basketball or tennis. And then do abs at home about five times a week. I have that roll thingy. Where you are parallel to the ground and roll the wheel all the way front with your arms outstretched. I think its awesome, except for one thing. It destroys your back. Anyways, anybody have any recommendations?
Diet is everything if you want your abs to show. If you diet correctly, maintain a moderate workout load with some cardio mixed in and abs at least 3 times a week, just do basic crunches or get one of those stability balls and do abs with that, they work great. But you can workout all you want and if you still eat like crap, then you'll always have trouble showing your abs unless you are blessed with one of those turbo charged metabolisms. I'd do a 70/30 protein to carb diet and NO carbs after 6pm for starters. And try to cut out all simple carbs all together. www.fitday.com is an excellent free site for starters to start working on your diet.
basically what reggietodd said. also, i've been told that compound exercises like squats and especially deadlifts do more for abs than isolation exercises for the abs.
Using a exercise ball will rock your ab world like nothing else. Try a 55-65 cm ball depending on your height, also get a good one so it doesn't blow up mid-crunch.
My diet when I am working out is pretty good. Low fat, moderate amounts of carbs, and high protien. But I always tend to eat right before I go to sleep. Does that really matter that much?
Depends on what you eat. If you have a high protein snack/meal of about 300-350 kcals right before you go to bed it can actually be very beneficial in preserving muscle. The key is to eat something your body can actually use over the hours you are sleeping. It has no real use for fat or carbs during sleep, but protein can help prevent catabolism.
