Is doing situps/crunches actually helpful?

Question

For having a nice flat tummy that is.
People have been saying that doing situps and crunches is good if you want to have a nice waist.
But lately I've been reading and hearing people say that situps and crunches are useless.
So would it be helpful if I do those 50 times a day. If it doesn't help, I will stop because it really sores.

Answer 1

Only doing crunches and sit ups will only develop muscle under the belly fat. You could easily have a 6pack but it will never be seen under fat. You need to do about 20-30min of cardio at least 3 times a week. The cardio burns the fat and the sit ups build muscle.
When I was in deployed I went to the gym everyday and did 30-40min on the elliptical and did 50 sit ups then 5 sets of 20 after and however more I could do after that I didn't count as long as I did my 30-40min and 50 then 5 sets.
Also eating healthy helps.

a good thing to try while trying to work up the number of sit ups you can do is pick a number..like start with 30, so do 30 sit ups and rest, then 25 and rest, then 20 and rest, etc and once you get to 5 go back up to 30.

Answer 2

There are various muscles in the abdominal area just like their are in the arms, legs, back, etc. so it would be most beneficial if you worked each muscle group in the abdominal region 2-3 times per week. I doubt doing them 50 times a day is going to help much since muscles grow mostly during rest. Your diet is even more important than the amount of abdominal work you do so check that as well. You can do 5000 sit ups a day but if you stuff yourself full at each meal you will never have a defined abdominal region.

Total body workouts 2-3 times a week would work best as it ensures a nice overall appearance.

Answer 3

Yes, crunches are an excellent way to flatten your tummy, and variations on the basic crunch can trim your core nicely. It's a popular and effective exercise for folks that want to trim it up a bit. Here's a site that will show you the proper form and a couple of different styles of crunches.

http://www.ehow.com/how_3191_abdominal-crunch.html

If it's sore, that's just your muscle tissue tearing down and rebuilding (that burning soreness from exercise is from the lactic acid that builds up in muscles (naturally) that have been exerted beyond their normal activity level)

And those folks that are telling you that crunches are worthless... what do their stomachs look like ? :)

Answer 4

They are but won't make a difference if you don't do any cardio. You could have fantastic strong abs, hidden under a layer of fat!! Keep doing them, but also go for a walk, run, bike ride etc... You'll notice the difference!!

Answer 5

sufficient stable i dont be certain or anyhting and that i didnt comprehend a thank you to do pushups in the beggining, whether now i do wat u do is start up with woman pushups, and do approximately 10-20 between the main u can do and if u sense ur equipped to transport on, then look at 5 boys pushups evaluate ur lower back if flat and ur doing it safely, as quickly as u get greater at it, start up doing 10, then upload on every time under no situations stop, and practice for atleast 10-20 minutes on a daily foundation to get greater at it want tht helps:)x

Answer 6

sit ups and crunches dont burn fat, they only build muscle. so if you have some fat on your belly it will look bigger because there is gona be more muscle underneath the layer of fat.
to have nice abs you have to have low body fat percentage.
to burn fat - cardio - the only fat burning exercise.