My abdominals and HST

R

RULLe

New Member
Hey HSTers

Although this is my first post, I have spent weeks if not months quietly browsing the forum and hence, I’m rather familiar with the principles, routines, exercises, diet and have started my real (by that I mean with pre-research on the principles) HST routine a while ago and I’m loving it! I have completed my 15s yesterday and since then I have gained roughly 3 kg already (6.61 lbs) so that is great progress I recon.

However, here’s the thing. I’m not clear on the abdominal area. How does this fit best into the HST principles of progressive weights. Prior to starting my HST programme I tried out several abdominal exercises that were suitable for adding weight progressively. I tried these:

Cable Lying Stability Ball Crunch
http://exrx.net/WeightE....ll.html

Cable Kneeling Crunch
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/CBKneelingCrunch.html

and found that with both the above exercises it was difficult to maintain good technique, especially during 5s. Therefore I decided to go with the Lever Seated Crunch

http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/LVSeatedCrunch.html

but still I feel like I’m not training my abdominals optimally according to HST (also cause I it seems this exercise does not affect all abdominal areas). I tried increasing the number of sets to get some burn, but this doesn’t seem right.

Thus, to sum up, how should I do my abdominal group according to HST?
 
its up to you but i think most on here do not do abs HST style.
the reason i dont is because i dont actually want my abs to get bigger ,meaning my waist would get bigger and maybe make me look fat with clothes on
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also doing squats and most compounds gives your abs a good workout.
i just do some crunches etc after training
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The abs is the rectus abominis, and if you go to that link, it says that the "Lever Seated Crunch" his the RA muscle, so that's a good choice. Remember that most exercises people think hit the abs don't actually hit the abs. Many times you are working the hip flexors.
Hitting the RA muscle HST style is fine. You need some mass in the abs at least or else they will look like crap (or not show up hardly at all) when you cut down later on.
 
Good to know I chose the right exercise as I'm already 2 weeks in the cycle...

There's a specific abs exercise that seems to be very popular in the gym where I gym and I'm curious what you think of it. I can't find it 1,2,3 on the net so here is my description:  
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They lay with their back on a crunch bench with their legs slightly bent upwards but almost horizontal and their hands holding the crunch levers behind their heads.....with me so far?
The movement is upwards with the legs until they are vertical in the air, with their butt lifted from the bench...sort of like a push with the legs. Then down again obviously...  
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 It looks like a 2-in-1 movement.
Any ideas?

Thnx for ur comments! I'd like to take this opportunity to say that this community is exceptional! My experience with fitness related forums is that everyone seems to feel they invented the perfect approach and the noobs are left in the dark. Here it's all transparent, research based and educated to the rest.
Happy to be here!
 
I do these myself... and if i'm right, they sound like Bench - Knee Rocks & Pops

Type: Core Strength
Category: Lower Abdominal
Description: - Back stays flat on the bench.
- Hold bench at side of head.
- Lift the legs until thighs are straight up, and bend knees to 90 degrees.
- Push knees directly upward by lifing hips off the bench and then lower again.
- Lower legs down to the bench, don’t change the angle at knee.
- Feet don’t touch the bench at the bottom of the movement.
- Lift, and return knees to start position. Repeat.
Coaching cues: - Feet don’t touch the bench at the bottom of the movement.
- Do not let the lower back come off the bench.
- Controlled movement of the legs, do not let the knees swing towards the chest
- Always brace the abdominals!


This movement can just do the pop only where you lie there and continuously lift your hips off the bench. You will notice a fantastic burn and I combine them with my normal crunches and oblique crunches.

Hope this is what you're talking about and that it helps.
 
Sounds similar with the distinct difference that the legs are not kept at 90 degrees and are pushed to the sky by the hips.

Your's sounds interesting though...I think I'm going for some burn seeking...
 
I simply do weighted crunches and kneeling cable crunches for abs.  They look better if they are bigger - if you cut the fat out so you can see them.  I've got some leftover room from when I was fat I need to fill with ab muscles anyway.

If you are doing weighted crunches or cable crunches, you can follow the HST principals for abs, training them just like any other muscle.
 
Those sound like dragon flags.

Anyway, just remember that you can't really hit the "lower abs" or "upper abs" because the RA is all one muscle. You can't contract just one part of a muscle. Typically if you feel soreness in your "lower abs" it is actually your hip flexors, not the RA itself.
 
I used to use machines to work my abs HST style and they felt great underneath the flab
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.  During cutting I am jsut doing crunches and the 90degree leg lifts.  One thing I thought was odd though.  It says not to lift your lower back off the bench.  I think it means dont lift your upper back off the bench and keep it flat.  Otherwise I think you lose some ROM.

Dont forget to do planks for the tranversus abdominus.
 
if you do squats, bent rows, power cleans and deads correctly, your WHOLE core will get a luxurious workout.
 
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(the_dark_master @ Oct. 27 2006,11:30)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">planks? pah, Dead bug twists (done slowly) is where it's at...</div>
how would a dead bug twist?
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actually i quite like to add in twists myself.

i get the olympic bar on the back of my neck and twist either way,precise and controlled.great for hip flexors and gives my obliques a workout too.
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I agree with Tot first post.

Do weighted machine crunches full range of motion if you have access to a machine.

If not do weighted pully crunches, or incline crunches with full range of motion.

Swiss ball crunches again with full range of motion.

Blow out very hard and squeeze...imagine trying to blow air through a straw as hard as possible.

Try this and you will feel your abs!
 
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(Joe.Muscle @ Nov. 10 2006,03:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I agree with Tot first post.

Do weighted machine crunches full range of motion if you have access to a machine.

If not do weighted pully crunches, or incline crunches with full range of motion.

Swiss ball crunches again with full range of motion.

Blow out very hard and squeeze...imagine trying to blow air through a straw as hard as possible.

Try this and you will feel your abs!</div>
Sitting Abdominal Crunch Machine - I don’t know what the official name of this machine is, but it is at every health club. Any machine for whatever muscle group has a limited range of motion based on the design of the machine, and this one is no exception. You are not targeting the abdominal muscles effectively with this piece of equipment. Skip this machine and grab a mat. Doing floor exercises such as abdominal crunches, reverse crunches, or toe reaches, going in a slow and controlled manner, will be a better use of your time to get a flatter stomach.
 
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(lcars @ Oct. 30 2006,19:42)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">actually i quite like to add in twists myself.

i get the olympic bar on the back of my neck and twist either way,precise and controlled.great for hip flexors and gives my obliques a workout too.
wink.gif
</div>
Side Bends and twists- All they will do is build the muscle and push your bodyfat out further so that everybody can notice your love handles. That’s not what you want. The obliques are small muscles and just a little stimulation can really develop them. To eliminate the extra fat around the obliques, watch your diet and burn off your bodyfat with cardio or weights.
 
Transverse abdominus — The deepest muscle of the abdominal wall. The transverse abdominus basically &quot;wraps&quot; around the front and side portion of the abdominal wall and attaches to the thoracolumbar fascia in the back. The transverse abdominus reduces the diameter of the abdomen or &quot;flattens&quot; the belly.

Visceral compression(ie keeping your guts in); the key muscle group here is the transverse abdominus. This is the motion of &quot;sucking in&quot; your navel or drawing it to your spine. While this movement shouldn’t be done when you're lifting, performing these movements as part of a well-rounded core training program will help you cover your bases. Below are some examples:

• Navel draws from quadruped position (on all fours)

• Vacuums

Never heard of the dead bug twist? Lie on the floor with your legs up at a 90-degree angle and your arms outstretched above your torso. Now, bear down on your abs like someone is about to punch you in the stomach. With this tight feeling, move your arms and legs in opposite directions, maintaining the tension throughout the course of the movement. If you start to feel this in your low back, reset by getting tight again and then resume the movement. These really hits the TVA and teach you to brace with movement. Perform these for sets of up to one minute at a time.

(thanks T-mag) So twists actually &quot;pull in&quot; the abdominal wall. Now inline with bang for the buck HST compound philosophy, integrating TA, RA, obliques etc... Russian twists and or Full Contact Twists will both build great abs AND keep 'em in.
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QED
 
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