I am working to get leaner abs right now by doing crunches, but is it unhealthy just to do crunches?

Question

Are there any other exercises that I should be doing as well. I am not talking about exercises for the arms or legs, but exercises for the back or stomach area. If so, what are the exercises and how do I do them?

(I am also working out on the elliptical. So crunches and the elliptical is all the exericise I'm getting.)

Answer 1

You are better off training your whole body. Just doing crunches is not bad for you, but you will see very limited results. Muscle uses fat as its preferential source of food, for the brain it is glucose (sugar).

Doing crunches will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but if there is a lot a fat in the surrounding tissues, then ab crunches alone will not be enough to get the lean sexy abs you want.

You should do a variety of different exercises for your abs that include, but is not exclusive to crunches. Leg lifts, jacknife sit ups, and hollow body holds are some good ones too.

You should work your arms and legs too.
More muscle = more fat burning cells
even while you aren't working out.

You don't need and probably don't want body builder arms, but working out your entire body will give you faster results as losing fat is about increasing your caloric expenditure and decreasing your caloric intake. Also, fat cells have a tendency to all shrink evenly and at the same time, even if it appears that they are not deposited that way.

Remember, your belly fat isn't only around your ab muscles. Fat surround the viscera. Your intestines and organs have significant fat deposits which make your belly protrude, not just weak ab muscles.

Answer 2

Crunches (raising your upper body) pulls on your abs from the top. Leg raises (raising your lower body) pulls on your abs from the bottom. Using both exercises might be advantageous. It seems to me that it would balance the pull on your abs. You'd get it from both ends of your body. Some pull from the top and some pull from the bottom.

Don't know all the details about your body and your current progress, but I find that one of the most important (and most often missed) exercises for the abs (or stomach area in general) is pushing away from the table. And by that, I mean cutting back on calories. (smile.)

Good luck in your efforts to improve your body and your health.

Answer 3

Do some back exercises to balance out. Like, you can lean off the bed so you're halfway on, with your legs on, and then almost touch your head to the floor and lift up again. That will strengthen your back to match your abs.

Answer 4

you definetly need to do dif. work outs b/c you have dif ab muscles that crunches alone cannt exercise. try leg lifts, leg throws, side crunches, bicycle kicks. go to mens health.com for more. But crunches alone will not get you were you wanna be. fyi everybody has abs, but most are covered by fat, so if you are a little overweight then you have to sweat and diet to get nice abs.

Answer 5

Check this site out for ab exercises with pics

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm

Answer 6

Uneven muscle development will pull your skeleton out of alignment. Lay on your belly and lift your head and shoulders up slowly, smoothly. Side bends?

Answer 7

i don't think it's unhealthy. you can also try plank which is when you get into push up position and hold it. you can try laying on the floor and lifting your legs and holding that.

Answer 8

contrary to popular belief, crunches do not work your abs, they hurt your back.