Men's Fitness / Sit-ups don't work.

2-in-1 combi thread!

1) Men’s Fitness – How do they keep their circulation so high?
It seems to be a constant cycle of ’30 Days to Perfect Abs!’and ‘How You Can Get Ultra Mega Super S3x Every Night!’ every month without fail. Most of the guys who actually look even 10% as good as the cover models don’t need advice on the former and are significantly more likely to be enjoying the latter than Joe Public. So, is it just entirely aimed at fitness walts, like Guns & Ammo for the gym set?

2) The consensus amongst their writers and readers seems to be that sit-ups don’t work, what’s the STW take on this claim?

1) Some of their ideas are ok (see (2)), even if the writing is a bit on the fluff side.

2) Sit ups work at building ab muscle. But they ideally need to be weighted, and you won’t be able to see them unless you lose a load of body fat. So if you “want abs”, then no, sit ups alone do not work.

😆

1) People buy it a few times as they think it’ll get them fit. Or it helps them think they’re getting fit.

2) They don’t. Much better off doing proper core stability exercises and remembering to ‘switch on’ your abs for stability in all other exercises.

1)its just a w@nk mag for gay blokes (according to a gay guy at work)

2)everyones got abs cutting down on the pies and beer will expose them sit ups just make them stronger

Getting good abs is more about body fat than ab exercises. Can do a million sit ups a day but you need less than 10% body fat to get them looking good.

I prefer to do ab and lower back exercises on or with a gym ball, not that you can see much of them 🙂

Abs, made in the kitchen and not the gym is what they say

If you can see a six pack then there’s some malnutrition going on somewhere.

Surrounded By Zulus – Member
If you can see a six pack then there’s some malnutrition going on somewhere.

It’s in the fridge, next to that nice cheesecake!

A guy at work buys it every month and it promises something different every issue, tho he still looks the same lol

i work in the fitness and sports training business and mens health is generally full of shit

it’s like reading the daily mail hoping for news and intelligent insight

If you can see a six pack then there’s some malnutrition going on somewhere.

Heh.

I buy it for the interesting articles………….. No, sorry, thinking of another mag. 😳

Right, so what about me where I don’t have much belly fat under the skin, but my belly does stick out a bit? It’s always been like that to some extend or another, and sit-ups don’t seem to do much (although when I do them I do get stronger since I can do more and more).

1) People buy it a few times as they think it’ll get them fit. Or it helps them think they’re getting fit.

A bit like people buying MTB magazines and thinking it will make them a better rider 😉

I try to keep my Six Pack covered as it’s a bit cold out, for that I have found Beer to be the best solution – Here’s my 6 Beer Belly Six Pack Shielding Diet tips………….

Right, so what about me where I don’t have much belly fat under the skin, but my belly does stick out a bit? It’s always been like that to some extend or another, and sit-ups don’t seem to do much (although when I do them I do get stronger since I can do more and more).

Could be a you have an Anterior pelvic tilt.

I have a similar issue, and really should start doing something to rectify it.

Six pack or Party 7, is there any difference?

Ace!, I can now call my beer gut – Anterior pelvic tilt 🙂

Hmm, my pelvis does seem to tilt forward. I look like much less of a chubber if I wear tigher t-shirts that hug the small of my back. I always assumed my back and pelvis was like that because of my hugely muscular bum. Sprinter’s bum apparently, although I call it a hard-to-find-trousers-that-fit bum.

molgrips – it could be that there’s loads of fat under your abs… the dangerous type!

Right, so what about me where I don’t have much belly fat under the skin, but my belly does stick out a bit? It’s always been like that to some extend or another, and sit-ups don’t seem to do much (although when I do them I do get stronger since I can do more and more).

I reckon yer preggers

A bit like people buying MTB magazines and thinking it will make them a better rider

Yeah, surely everyone knows that all mountain bike magazines are utter tosh!

A bit like people buying MTB magazines and thinking it will make them a better rider

for the same reason people read jazz mags?

and you won’t be able to see them unless you lose a load of body fat

I knew it!

So the six pack is there it’s just hiding.

molgrips – it could be that there’s loads of fat under your abs… the dangerous type!

Quite possibly.

@Molgrips….have a read:

http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2009/11/5-simple-exercises-for-correcting.html

I did read that, will definitely try some of those ta.

Molgrips… I just read that. Buy yourself a copy of ‘Giggs Fitness’.

Sit ups do work, no matter what anyone says.

Rocky does them in a Russian hut in Rocky 4 to train to fight Ivan Drago. Drago was on steroids and Rocky still beat him.

There’s even a video of it, and his abs look ok too.

More Tiger related content, grrrrrrr…

Fascinating article on Anterior pelvic tilt. I’m off to the loo now to measure the gap in the small of my back but I have always suffered lower back pain when standing around for any amount of time. I’ve been doing core stability classes and circuit training for the past few months and have learned a lot of exercises which should really help with this. I only started them to give my cycling muscles a better platform but looks like I could be on for a double win if I am suffering from anterior pelvic tilt too. Cheers for the heads up 🙂

Well when standing against the wall in a normal upright position my heels are not against the wall, and I can get my hand behind the small of my back palm against the wall and then make a fist that way, my knuckles are into my back a little bit. If I put my heels agains the wall this isn’t a natural or comfortable position, but then my knuckles only brush my back.

Can do a million sit ups a day but you need less than 10% body fat to get them looking good.

my abs are perfectly visible and my bodyfat is about 12-14%

I don’t do many abs exercises just a few once or twice a week.

Kev

my abs are perfectly visible and my bodyfat is about 12-14%

*swoon*

my abs are perfectly visible and my bodyfat is about 12-14%

photo evidence of abs and evidence of your fat %? sounds like bullshit to me

🙄

typical response I suppose… I don’t need to prove or provide evidence of anything, I’ve no reason to lie about anything. A few people from this forum have met me.

Kev

You can SEE my abs if you get the light right. The top ones at least. God knows what my bf is but it’s not 14% 🙂

Keva, how’d you measure the bf? On some electronic scales?

I’m going to check my abs at the gym in a bit… reckon i might have a 6 pack 8)

Lord knows what my bodyfat is.