More Body Advice Needed

[MadMaxx]

Thank you

everyone for the dumbell upper body workout advice. I am actually fairly happy with the progress I am

making.

Let\'s see if anyone can help me with this other question. I will give you some background. I don\'t

seem to be having a big problem building up my upper body. I have broad shoulders and I am building my chest,

shoulders, and biceps no problem. That combined with a reduced diet and 8-10 hours of intense dancing a week are

giving my great results at a reasonable pace. I have even lost on inch or more off my waist, and have lost 4-5

pounds(I am not fat anyway). I am 5 ft 10 and recently went from 176 lbs to 171 pounds. I have a fairly

\"trianglular\" shape to my torso.

BUT, there is one persistent problem area. The old \"love handle\" or

\"spare tire\" area. It just refuses to go away! It is like the lines from my armpits to my waist are FAR from

parallel; chest is broad, things really drop off below the ribs, and waist has decreased too, but this \"bulge\"

or ring of flab above the waist persists.

What is the way to attack this thing? Is the answer dietary, muscle

training, excercise, or what?

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Thank you everyone for the dumbell upper body

workout advice. I am actually fairly happy with the progress I am making.

Let\'s see if anyone can help me with

this other question. I will give you some background. I don\'t seem to be having a big problem building up my

upper body. I have broad shoulders and I am building my chest, shoulders, and biceps no problem. That combined with

a reduced diet and 8-10 hours of intense dancing a week are giving my great results at a reasonable pace. I have

even lost on inch or more off my waist, and have lost 4-5 pounds(I am not fat anyway). I am 5 ft 10 and recently

went from 176 lbs to 171 pounds. I have a fairly \"trianglular\" shape to my torso.

BUT, there is one

persistent problem area. The old \"love handle\" or \"spare tire\" area. It just refuses to go away! It is like

the lines from my armpits to my waist are FAR from parallel; chest is broad, things really drop off below the ribs,

and waist has decreased too, but this \"bulge\" or ring of flab above the waist persists.

What is the way to

attack this thing? Is the answer dietary, muscle training, excercise, or what?

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

You doing cruches? Reverse crunches? Oblique crunches?

You might want to try the Vid/DVD

\"5-Day Abs\" by The Firm.

BTW-- I am a woman with a 24 inch waist.

[Pancho1188]

There are

two reasons why you have problems with that area: too much fat or poorly developed muscles.

Too much fat:

Remember, there is no such thing has spot reduction!!! All the crunches in the world will not help if your

six-pack and killer obliques are hidden by a layer or two of fat. However, the extra abdominal workout will burn

extra calories, which will burn fat and may reduce your waist. In other words, you have to burn total calories to

get extra fat off and ab workouts won\'t get rid of that specific area of fat---just total fat.

Poorly

developed muscles: This is where abdominal workouts will work great. It\'ll help stablize your body and give you

better posture if you previously had weak muscles. Everyone has their own ab workouts they\'ll probably give you,

so I\'ll give you a couple overlooked things that aren\'t really \"crunch\" related. I personally think

crunches are wasteful because most people do them wrong. If you\'ve seen my abs, you know I know at least a

LITTLE about what I\'m talking about.

Anyway, a few cool ways to work your abs:
Take up a sport that requires

a lot of twisting and quick changes in motion. Basketball, tennis, racquetball, etc. Make sure to keep your abs

tight as much as possible, and use your midsection to help you make those split-second twists. Your core will be

sore the next day. Why do you think those rappers who play a lot of basketball have those nice abs?

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Vaccuums: These

are awesome because you don\'t have to be in a gym to do them. It\'s very simple. Just suck in your gut as

hard as you can and feel the burn of your abs. Hold it for 30 seconds and move up as they get easier. It sounds

really simple and easy, and it is. No one ever said ab workouts had to involve crunching.

Pushup-position hold

(for lack of a better term): Get into the pushup position, only prop yourself up with your elbow instead of your

hands so it\'s not an upper body workout. Hold the position while keeping your abs very tight. You can even

tighten and relax periodically if you wish. Put some weight on your back for added resistance. This will also

allow you to have better pushup form in the future so you don\'t have that \"humping the ground\" look while

doing a lot of pushups.

There are so many others that people will tell you about, but those are easy and even fun

ways to get bonus ab workout. Do not do these alone, though, as you should do other exercises, too. They are just

great supplements to \'finish off\' your ab sets and leave you with that \"damn, my abs hurt\" feeling.

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There are two reasons why you have problems with

that area: too much fat or poorly developed muscles.

Too much fat: Remember, there is no such thing has spot

reduction!!! All the crunches in the world will not help if your six-pack and killer obliques are hidden by a

layer or two of fat. However, the extra abdominal workout will burn extra calories, which will burn fat and may

reduce your waist. In other words, you have to burn total calories to get extra fat off and ab workouts won\'t

get rid of that specific area of fat---just total fat.

Poorly developed muscles: This is where abdominal workouts

will work great. It\'ll help stablize your body and give you better posture if you previously had weak muscles.

Everyone has their own ab workouts they\'ll probably give you, so I\'ll give you a couple overlooked things that

aren\'t really \"crunch\" related. I personally think crunches are wasteful because most people do them wrong.

If you\'ve seen my abs, you know I know at least a LITTLE about what I\'m talking about.

Anyway, a few cool

ways to work your abs:
Take up a sport that requires a lot of twisting and quick changes in motion. Basketball,

tennis, racquetball, etc. Make sure to keep your abs tight as much as possible, and use your midsection to help you

make those split-second twists. Your core will be sore the next day. Why do you think those rappers who play a lot

of basketball have those nice abs? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Vaccuums: These are awesome because you don\'t have to be in a

gym to do them. It\'s very simple. Just suck in your gut as hard as you can and feel the burn of your abs. Hold

it for 30 seconds and move up as they get easier. It sounds really simple and easy, and it is. No one ever said ab

workouts had to involve crunching.

Pushup-position hold (for lack of a better term): Get into the pushup

position, only prop yourself up with your elbow instead of your hands so it\'s not an upper body workout. Hold

the position while keeping your abs very tight. You can even tighten and relax periodically if you wish. Put some

weight on your back for added resistance. This will also allow you to have better pushup form in the future so you

don\'t have that \"humping the ground\" look while doing a lot of pushups.

There are so many others that

people will tell you about, but those are easy and even fun ways to get bonus ab workout. Do not do these alone,

though, as you should do other exercises, too. They are just great supplements to \'finish off\' your ab sets

and leave you with that \"damn, my abs hurt\" feeling.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Pancho

DOES have great abs!

[Pancho1188]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Pancho DOES have great abs!

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

And Kari DOES look good naked...

24-inch waist... I have a ~30-32-inch

waist, and I am pretty damn thin...I\'m guessing that\'s small enough to pick up, carry around, and maybe prop

up against a wall and....................Hmmmm... Pancho in heat...

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Hey, there\'s another way to work those abs!!!

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Pancho DOES have great abs!

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

And Kari DOES look good naked...

Actually, you\'re right! I DO!

24-inch waist... I

have a ~30-32-inch waist, and I am pretty damn thin...I\'m guessing that\'s small enough to pick up, carry

around, and maybe prop up against a wall and....................Hmmmm... Pancho in heat...

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Hey, there\'s another way to work those abs!!!

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Push ups!

Up-down-up-down updownupdownupdown up--- DOOOOOOOOOWWWNNNN. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There are two reasons why you have problems with

that area: too much fat or poorly developed muscles.

Too much fat: Remember, there is no such thing has spot

reduction!!! All the crunches in the world will not help if your six-pack and killer obliques are hidden by a

layer or two of fat. However, the extra abdominal workout will burn extra calories, which will burn fat and may

reduce your waist. In other words, you have to burn total calories to get extra fat off and ab workouts won\'t

get rid of that specific area of fat---just total fat.

Poorly developed muscles: This is where abdominal workouts

will work great. It\'ll help stablize your body and give you better posture if you previously had weak muscles.

Everyone has their own ab workouts they\'ll probably give you, so I\'ll give you a couple overlooked things that

aren\'t really \"crunch\" related. I personally think crunches are wasteful because most people do them wrong.

If you\'ve seen my abs, you know I know at least a LITTLE about what I\'m talking about.

Anyway, a few cool

ways to work your abs:
Take up a sport that requires a lot of twisting and quick changes in motion. Basketball,

tennis, racquetball, etc. Make sure to keep your abs tight as much as possible, and use your midsection to help you

make those split-second twists. Your core will be sore the next day. Why do you think those rappers who play a lot

of basketball have those nice abs? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Vaccuums: These are awesome because you don\'t have to be in a

gym to do them. It\'s very simple. Just suck in your gut as hard as you can and feel the burn of your abs. Hold

it for 30 seconds and move up as they get easier. It sounds really simple and easy, and it is. No one ever said ab

workouts had to involve crunching.

Pushup-position hold (for lack of a better term): Get into the pushup

position, only prop yourself up with your elbow instead of your hands so it\'s not an upper body workout. Hold

the position while keeping your abs very tight. You can even tighten and relax periodically if you wish. Put some

weight on your back for added resistance. This will also allow you to have better pushup form in the future so you

don\'t have that \"humping the ground\" look while doing a lot of pushups.

There are so many others that

people will tell you about, but those are easy and even fun ways to get bonus ab workout. Do not do these alone,

though, as you should do other exercises, too. They are just great supplements to \'finish off\' your ab sets

and leave you with that \"damn, my abs hurt\" feeling.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Actually, though, honey... I partly disagree with you. I agree that there is no such thing as

spot reducing. However, crunches tighten the abs. Look what the crunch machine at the gym does for people.

[Icarus]

woo yay i got

a 28 inch waist.

Basically, everyone is right in what they are saying. it\'s the body fat percentage that is

your enemy.

The stuff that you are complaining about (since it doesn\'t make you look \'overall\' fat) will

be the first place that your body stores fat on you physiologicaly... therefor it\'ll be the very last place to

come off. Since it\'s been there the longest, it\'ll have had a chance to turn into the \'orrible brown

adipose tissue, the stuff that dreams are made off! Due to this, it will also likely be recieving pretty

poor blood supply, making it even harder to encourage your body to get off it\'s (metaphorical) ass and use it for

energy. Muscle is sooooo much easier to break down than that icky sticky gunk (i\'m not five, you

know).

Sooo... yeah! It\'s a nutritional thing... um.. Pancho, could you fwd that PM i sended you to this

man..? I\'m really strapped for time at the moment!

Good luck dude, the advice you\'ve already been given

is Sterling... keep at it!

Abba Zabba
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Steve

[Pancho1188]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Actually, though, honey... I partly disagree with

you. I agree that there is no such thing as spot reducing. However, crunches tighten the abs. Look what the crunch

machine at the gym does for people.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

You\'re not disagreeing

with me. You\'re right, and that\'s why I said this:

</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Poorly developed muscles: This is where abdominal workouts will work

great.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Crunches, etc. do tighten the abdominal muscles. That was

my point, but I guess I didn\'t come out and say that. Thank you for clarifying.

The only reason I said I

didn\'t like the standard sit-up and crunches is because most people do them wrong. First of all, if you ever do

a \"sit-up\", you\'re wasting your time. Anyone who knows anything about working out knows that one. Crunches

are good if you do them right, but most people go 100 miles per hour when it\'s not speed and reps but the

contraction of your abdominal muscles that are important. Although the crunch machines are hard to use because they

are designed for someone who is 5\'10\" and you have to find out EXACTLY how to adjust it to your height for it

to work well (even then they can feel awkward and unnatural sometimes from my experience), they are great for

keeping you from going too fast with your reps and adding resistance.

Oh, and I found another good way to work

out your abdominals. DANCING!!! Well, dancing and moshing...yes, I moshed a little at last night\'s formal with

my friends. Go figure. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] The twisting, jumping, and pushing were

great for the core muscles. I\'m feeling it today! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Actually, though, honey... I partly disagree with you. I agree that there

is no such thing as spot reducing. However, crunches tighten the abs. Look what the crunch machine at the gym does

for people.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

You\'re not disagreeing with me. You\'re right,

and that\'s why I said this:

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Poorly developed

muscles: This is where abdominal workouts will work great.


<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Crunches, etc. do tighten the abdominal muscles. That was my point, but I guess I didn\'t

come out and say that. Thank you for clarifying.

The only reason I said I didn\'t like the standard sit-up and

crunches is because most people do them wrong. First of all, if you ever do a \"sit-up\", you\'re wasting your

time. Anyone who knows anything about working out knows that one. Crunches are good if you do them right, but most

people go 100 miles per hour when it\'s not speed and reps but the contraction of your abdominal muscles that are

important. Although the crunch machines are hard to use because they are designed for someone who is 5\'10\" and

you have to find out EXACTLY how to adjust it to your height for it to work well (even then they can feel awkward

and unnatural sometimes from my experience), they are great for keeping you from going too fast with your reps and

adding resistance.

Oh, and I found another good way to work out your abdominals. DANCING!!! Well, dancing and

moshing...yes, I moshed a little at last night\'s formal with my friends. Go figure.

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] The twisting, jumping, and pushing were great for the core

muscles. I\'m feeling it today! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

yeah, I can relate to that! I sued to be a bellydancer, in nightclub shows. Talk about

abdominal work!

MAJORLY agree with you re: crunches and sit ups. Esp. sit ups. They don\'t do a damned thing.

[Holmes]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
I sued to be a bellydancer, in nightclub

shows.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

What kind of lawyer did you have to get for that??

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]


Holmes

[MadMaxx]

Kari

wrote:

yeah, I can relate to that! I sued to be a bellydancer, in nightclub shows. Talk about abdominal

work!

MAJORLY agree with you re: crunches and sit ups. Esp. sit ups. They don\'t do a damned thing.

Who

exactly did you sue so that you could get into belly dancing? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[MadMaxx]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Actually, though, honey... I partly disagree with you. I agree that there

is no such thing as spot reducing. However, crunches tighten the abs. Look what the crunch machine at the gym does

for people.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

You\'re not disagreeing with me. You\'re right,

and that\'s why I said this:

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Poorly developed

muscles: This is where abdominal workouts will work great.


<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Crunches, etc. do tighten the abdominal muscles. That was my point, but I guess I didn\'t

come out and say that. Thank you for clarifying.

The only reason I said I didn\'t like the standard sit-up and

crunches is because most people do them wrong. First of all, if you ever do a \"sit-up\", you\'re wasting your

time. Anyone who knows anything about working out knows that one. Crunches are good if you do them right, but most

people go 100 miles per hour when it\'s not speed and reps but the contraction of your abdominal muscles that are

important. Although the crunch machines are hard to use because they are designed for someone who is 5\'10\" and

you have to find out EXACTLY how to adjust it to your height for it to work well (even then they can feel awkward

and unnatural sometimes from my experience), they are great for keeping you from going too fast with your reps and

adding resistance.

Oh, and I found another good way to work out your abdominals. DANCING!!! Well, dancing and

moshing...yes, I moshed a little at last night\'s formal with my friends. Go figure.

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] The twisting, jumping, and pushing were great for the core

muscles. I\'m feeling it today! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

After your earlier post suggesting certain sports, I was going to mention that I dance 6-8

hours a week, but I thought that you might laugh at that. While it may not be as useful as some of the sports you

suggest, I certainly do not think it should not be dismissed. I do fairly intense salsa dancing, and it is solely

responsible for my weight loss, waist reduction, and it is probably very slowly affecting my \"spare tire\" area.

As someone said though, that is pretty old fat hanging around there, so it is not too excited about getting burned

off.

You also mentioned keeping the abs tightened. I know that the whole time I am dancing I have to keep my ab

area tightened more than usual. The reason I know is that I have to tighten my belt about half a hole when I dance.

otherwise my pants are slipping down. In that tightened position, the waist is not comfortable if I am just walking

around or sitting, but when dancing I definitely has to be there. So, I guess I am always a little \"sucked in\"

when dancing. I am not sure of the reason. Maybe it is a result of the posture required, or maybe it is because

muscles throughout the torso are actually being used???

[MadMaxx]

Somebody

mentioned circulation in that area. How about massaging the area to improve circulation there? Isn\'t that why

they strap obese people into one of the big belts that go around their mid-section and vibrate the hell out of them?

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[kindofblue78]

Here\'s your best bet:

Do things that aren\'t abdominal centric, just things that rely on your abs to be

stable (ie Jacknife pushups and regular pushups). Also, do a lot of running, that seems to help too. If you\'re

just looking to build abdominal strength, check out a book by Pavel Tsatsouline called \"Bullet-Proof Abs\" it

sounds corny, but the stuff in there is really good.

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Kari wrote:

yeah, I can relate to that! I sued

to be a bellydancer, in nightclub shows. Talk about abdominal work!

MAJORLY agree with you re: crunches and sit

ups. Esp. sit ups. They don\'t do a damned thing.

Who exactly did you sue so that you could get into belly

dancing? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">


Sue? ????? Oh! I see... that\'s a typo. Should be \"used,\" not \"sued.\"

Oh,

honey! I was in shows for a couple decades. Now, I help judge a major dance contest, out here, every Feb.



Didn\'t mean to go pro, actually. I started taking lessons, in my early 20s. just to stay in shape. After a

few years, teachers plugged me into show to replace dancers who called in sick. Next thing I knew.......

I just

got out of it a couple years ago. Started hating the late nights and long drives.

[Kari]

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
I sued to be a bellydancer, in nightclub shows.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

What kind of lawyer did you have to get for that??

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]



Holmes

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">



One of O.J.\'s [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]