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Thread: Accessory abdominal exercises

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Default Accessory abdominal exercises

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    Coach,

    I have a weak abdomen in terms of strength, and I think that it is interfering with my ability to do presses with heavier weights. In SS you talked about Roman chair situps but didn't go into much detail about them. How often should they be done in terms of reps and sets, and should they be done while holding weights too? Thanks for any advice.

  2. #2
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    I have had a change of opinion about the use of the Roman Chair. Since the abs' primary function is anterior spinal stability, and since this is a high-force isometric activity, I'm tending these days to advise against long-ROM ab exercises like the Roman Chair situp as illustrated in the book. I'd rather see you do a shorter-ROM situp with bent knees and a heavy weight for 5-10 reps, since this more closely approximates the actual function of the muscles when they work their day job. It also minimizes the chance that the spine gets jammed up with a lot of shearing while hanging off of the bench facing the opposite direction of the load in a pull. And I've never heard of anybody getting rhabdo from a heavy set of 10. I have a bench here that holds the femurs at 90 degrees to the torso while you hold a plate behind your neck. Seems to work well.

  3. #3
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    Sep 2008
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    Then I take it glute-ham situps are out, in your book?

    FWIW, since starting the the GHD, I max the situps in my twice-yearly PFT, doing exactly what the experts say not to do. I lock my abs (no flexion) and let the hip flexors do the hard work. No back pain at all.

  4. #4
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    Stargazer, I posed this question to the forum a couple of months ago and a guy turned me on to a great ab exercise that has helped my press.

    You sit down with bent knees in the position of a traditional sit-up, and with your back flat against the floor, extend your arms straight up toward the ceiling and hold a weight in them. Keep your arms pointing straight up through the situp. Ones you progress past the 45lb plate, you will finally find a use for those 'ez-curl' bars. Load them up with whatever weight you need.

  5. #5
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    Would the Abmat be useful at all when performing weighted situps?

  6. #6
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    The Abmat increases the ROM of the spinal flexion. So no, I would not use it.

  7. #7
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    Nov 2009
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    My back goes into lordosis when i do heavy presses. I though the dl or squat was causing back trouble as I can be stupid. Once I realized this I started stretching my hamstrings between sets of press and it seems to help. Is there anything else I can do? Is this caused by a weakness of the abs? After trying to explain to a medical person that my back feels great after squats and hurts after presses they look at me like I am talking about alien abduction.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    While we're on the subject, back in 2008, you said you're OK with planks. (thread below)

    http://startingstrength.com/resource...ighlight=plank

    I assume that L-sits also fall into that category and that this hasn't changed, as was the case with roman chair situps, right?

    Also, while we're at it, I searched, but didn't find anything on wheel rollouts. What's your opinion of that?

  9. #9
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    May 2008
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    What about the ab roller? I think a lot of people (including me) are finding that this is a better ab exercise than any kind of situp.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Ab rollers are pretty good since they are primarily isometric. If you think you need a rotational component in your weighted situp, twist as you meet the knees with your elbows. But keep the ROM short and the resistance heavy and the work will be more useful for the promotion of a stable spine under a heavy load.

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