I recently started doing a regimen of sit-ups and push-ups. At first I started doing them everyday but have now changed to every other day because someone recomended that I give the muscle a day to rebuild. I seem to remember being told that you can do these excersises everyday though.
What do the masses recommend? Should sit-ups and push-ups be done everyday to get maximum benefit?
What’s your goal?
Push-ups are O.K., but sit-ups are pretty useless.
My goal is really just toning. A bit of definition would be cool.
Why are sit ups useless? I seem to be seeing results. Is there something better I could be doing? Keep in mind I have no equipment to use at home.
Thanks
I apologize. I have actually been doing crunches, not full sit ups. I dont know if that really makes a huge difference to the question.
Any results that you think you’re getting from situps are primarily from your diet and general activity level. They don’t burn fat from your abs (spot reduction is impossible), and they’re lousy at calorie burning in general.
If all you want to do is burn fat, your best bet is to walk four or five miles a day, probably in about an hour’s time. If you want to build any significant amount of strength and/or muscle, your best bet is to go out and buy a set of adjustable dumbbells–my dad bought a pair of handles and enough weights to get anything from 10-60 pounds for under $70 at one of the many sports stores.
Note that you can develop a big chest and arms from pushups, but it’ll take a while. And if you’re doing that, you really ought to add in a row of some kind so that you don’t end up hurting yourself.
btw, weighted crunches (with the weight on your chest) are good for you–weak abs are implicated in many cases of lower back pain. But don’t do that without some kind of lower back work as well, or you can fuck up your posture pretty badly.
Untrafilter is 100% correct on all counts.
IF you want more definition, one of the best things you can do is loose fat. A combination of cardiovascular exercises + proper diet is best.
Sorry, that’s spelled lose fat…
Damn. I already lost 30 lbs (at 6’ and 149 lbs my wife will kill me if I lose more). I hardly have time to walk or do anything like that. Sit ups seemed easy enough to do since they only took a few minutes in the moring.
Oh well. Thanks.
I guess I will see about finding time to walk.
Taking a day or two off will build mass which is probably what you want in your arms and chest. I think the sit-ups should be done daily to keep them “ripped” looking. But then again i am a couch potato. I am getting tired just typingggggggggggggggggggggggg
Situps are not useless. You develop your abdominal muscles with them. Crunches are really the correct way to do them. Full situps will exasperate any back problems and only will aid in developing your hip muscles. Crunches will not hurt your back. Paradoxically, as you develop your abs, you will help prevent back problems.
Do them daily without any weights or just light weights. This is OK, since you are using only your body weight and possibly light weights, for toning. I do them every morning. I’ve increased my pushups to 30 and I don’t even count the situps, as I do different types and feel I can do them endlessly. In addition to crunches, which will work your rectus muscles, you want to do some to work your obliques. There are many ways to do this. The simplest is to, while in a supine position, bend one leg so the foot is flat on the ground and place the foot of the other leg on that knee. Then, with your arms behind your head reach over with your elbow on the same side as the bent leg to attempt to touch the other knee. Sounds complicated the way I explained it, but you know what I mean. This is a standard way. You can either do reps that way or alternate elbows to knees.
One of the best way to exercise your lower abs is to, lying supine (of course), keep your legs straight, lift them slightly off the ground and alternate bending the knee of each leg to your chest. There are plenty more. Do a Google search. The best way to exercise the lower abs is by a variation of the leg exercises.
Bah! If you’re happy with your results, then keep doing what you’re doing. Generally, situps/crunches aren’t what give people flat stomachs. Like ultrafilter and Crafter_Man said, aerobic exercise and diet are a large part of burning fat. However, people too often leave out the third (and in my experience, equally important) part of the equation: muscle-building. Even while resting, muscle burns more calories than fat. By doing situps, you are building up your ab muscles, which in turn will reduce your body fat levels. In addition, muscle weighs more than fat, so you’ll be “bulking up” a little.
If you’re looking for different ways to do pushups, you can focus on different portions of the muscles used by changing the way you use the muscle. When doing pushups, if you put your hands wider apart, you can work more on the inner chest. If you put your hands close together, you can work more on your shoulders and triceps. If you tilt you body down (feet above the head), you can work the upper chest and shoulders. If you tilt your body up (feet below the head), you can work the lower chest. You can also put your feet in a chair, and each of your hands in a chair, so that you can drop down lower in your “down” position. Try doing pushups very slowly, or very quickly. Try getting into a handstand position against the wall, and hold that for about 60-90 seconds.
But the bottom line is that if you’re pleased with the results you’re getting, keep it up. If you’re not happy, experiment and see what works for you.
My position is that these exercises will develop the muscles. I did not say anything about reducing fat.
I do two types of pushups. The standard, with the hands about shoulder width apart and fingers pointed straight ahead, and also pushups with the fingers pointed toward each other and the hands close together, elbows bent. These work different muscles, as Agesaid.
Sorry, barbitu8, I wasn’t Bah’ing you. I was Bah’ing the idea that pezpunk should change to walking, if pushups and situps are working. For some people, a few situps and pushups are all the exercise that’s needed to stay in relatively good shape. Exercise tends to have dramatically different effects, depending on who’s doing the exercise. If **pezpunk/b] is happy with the results he/she’s seeing, then he/she should keep it up.
When done right, ab crunches are THE most effective way to get rid of the gut. Al lot of people arch their back, do super fast bouncy situps, they dont bend the knee and generally dont know how much to do and when its working.
You have 3 sets of ab muscles. therefore you do 3 different types of sit-ups. If you want muscle tone, do more reps. If you want to lose the flab, gotta add weights (after youre used to doing it right) and do less reps with more weight. If you are bulking up, you may actually gain weight (since muscles are heavier than fat) but you will lose the flab.
If you are training with weights and want to add muscle (power training) then it is a good idea to skip a day to let your muscles heal and rest. Be sure to so stretching exercises and drink water. keep hydrated. Do deliberate situps. Dont go up fast and go down slow. Keep the rythm steady and feel your muscles working. dont let inertia cheat you from the proper exercise form. Form is everything. Once you start losing form, you might as well stop because you are not getting the benefits you are working for.
For fitness and muscle tone, do lots of reps with no weights. Again form is everything. This you can do everyday. I keeps your metabolism high and your fat conversion low. If you wieght training and want bulging manly muscles suppliment your diet with more protien and lower (not eliminate) your carbo intake. This and a healthy diet and a lot of aerobics will make you lose weight but only for as long as you maintain the exercise (and diet)to keep metabolism high. If you revert back to your couch potato ways you also revert back to your couch potato shape.
Wrong. See fat loss myths.
**
Again, wrong. See the previously linked document.
If you’re going to do crunches (which are better for muscle development than nothing at all), do them slowly, and be sure to look up the form so you’re doing them right. It is a very good idea to do twist crunches to work your obliques, and some form of lower ab exercise (but see that fat loss myths page for info about lower ab myths). Do the oblique exercises second, as the obliques are involved a little in regular crunches as well. And definitely do lower back work, so you don’t do more harm than good.
Crunches won’t build much muscle, though–you’re much better using the ab machine in a gym if you want to get really strong abs. No one will ever get strong lifting light weights, which is what your torso essentially is, as you use your abs to maintain your upper body’s balance all day every day.
Just for the record, last I checked, I could do about eight crunches with 90 pounds sitting on my chest, and that was a while ago. So I do have some idea of what I’m talking about.
I appreciate all the help. I am actually not looking to burn fat though. My stomach is flat. I just want definition.
I’m not really looking for abs of steel.
Being that I am not looking to burn fat it doesn’t seem like crunches are completely useless.
There was an article in Men’s Health (or something like that) a few years ago on the proper way to do push-ups:
Hands on the floor directly beneath the shoulders, fingers splayed with middle fingers pointing forward. Head up (i.e., facing forward, not facing the floor). When you come down, keep your arms at your sides, not bowed outward, to save wear and tear on your shoulders. And lower yourself only until your upper arms are horizontal to the floor, not touching your face to the floor; this will also save your shoulders.
The article claimed that a pushup done this way was equivalent to bench-pressing about 60% of your body weight. Sounds about right to me.
Personally, I suggest you also count by twos; I find my calisthenics go more quickly this way. 
If you’re getting down to technique, be sure to keep your buttocks up. Not way up, but do not let them sag either. If you let them sag, you’re also using your torso. Keep them up and use your arms.