I'm 44, and have been working out for about 8 months now. I started out slow, but have worked up to about 4, sometimes 5 days a week.
The gym is small, but I am doing about 20 minutes on the bike, then weights (all dumbells) for about 25 minutes, men's chest, some leg extension exercises, and lastly, from 15-20 minutes on the eliptical (sp?) machine.
I've increased the weights and am currently using 15 lbs. for most things, and 20 lbs. for a few. I'm seeing a huge difference in my arms, but with my hips and thighs I am seeing not enough change. I am increasing the difficulty of the bike almost to the max, and fluctuate with the elliptical, mostly "harder" levels.
Lastly, to the real problem. I began by doing sit ups on two different slant boards, and working out on the ab machine. I was doing a lot, and having no problem. I could see a difference within several weeks with the side muscles, and the others were beginning to tighten nicely. The problem began when I left the gym one day and began having horrible abdominal pains on my right side. It felt "female", so I went immediately to the gynecologist, who did an ultrasound and an exam. All came back 100% normal. He advised that he thought I may have torn loose some "adhesions" in my appendectomy scar, which is approximately 4 inches across. I waited several weeks to try ab exercises again, but since then, I can only do a few until the pain starts.
Have you heard of this? It seems as though my stomach has grown CONSIDERABLY since this started, and even though I am eating a lot less and getting some cardio, my stomach is large (was not really that large before). Should I continue to do ab exercises, and if so, which ones do you recommend? Is it safe? If I have torn loose adhesions, or "am tearing loose" adhesions, is it safe to try and ignore and continue? What do you suggest?
I do NOT want to walk around with a fat, soft stomach! I really also want to tighten up my butt and thighs, but they don't seem to be moving when you get about halfway between the knee and butt. Everything is still fat and cellulitish!!!
And growing up is not an absence of dreaming
Its being able to understand the difference between
The ones you can hold and the ones that you've been sold....Jewel
Sounds like you have some issues there... Issues that I wouldnt feel comfortable addressing. Its not my place to diagnose any injuries and I wouldnt want to tell you to go crazy and you end up doing more damage.
You wrote "Should I continue to do ab exercises, and if so, which ones do you recommend? Is it safe? If I have torn loose adhesions, or "am tearing loose" adhesions, is it safe to try and ignore and continue? What do you suggest?
I do NOT want to walk around with a fat, soft stomach! I really also want to tighten up my butt and thighs, but they don't seem to be moving when you get about halfway between the knee and butt. Everything is still fat and cellulitish!!!
Can you advise me?"
As far as the first questions regarding working your abs, well I wouldnt push it. You can work your abs many ways as supporting muscles without isolating them. As a matter of fact I RARELY work my clients abs, they work all the time with squats, deadlifts, hell..almost every free weight movement. I will sometimes go months without working my own and they may become a little weaker when I isolate them but they dont look any different.
As far as walking around with a fat, soft stomach... THis is where your diet comes in. If you still have cellulite on your legs you obviously have a way to go with you fat loss. From reading some of your other posts and comments like "are those things on the top of your arms shoulders?" I think you have a lot of things to learn about your body and working out. I suggest you read everything on my site and make sure you understand it. You are on the tip of the iceburg with your quest to "Emerge" and have a lot to learn to help you on your journey.
Feel free to post away and in the mean time remember that abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.
I asked the question about shoulders because I guess I always considered the upper/outer arms to be "arms", but when I asked about building that muscle, they did refer to it as "shoulder", which surprised me.
I've actually been working out for about a year now, but with no personal trainer. As I said, the people who work at my gym are not too helpful, so I'm basically "on my own" to educate myself.
Thanks for the advice about the abs, too. I am worried that something might be going on, so maybe I'll stick to what you recommend and see if it eventually tightens the muscles. I was happy that I had started to develop muscles in the ab area, but was disappointed when that problem developed.
Re: Abs
sorry for the bad news but your body will change more with a proper diet than anything else. Keep reading here and else where to learn as much as you can. So many people waste years working out with no idea what they are doing and get nowhere, dont be that person.
Re: Abs
Just thought I'd throw my two cents in since I've studied the core muscles to the point of distraction.
Balancing exercises will improve the reactivity of the abdominal muscles and will tend to tighten them up over time without developing a lot of mass. If you're interested in this kind of training, start off easy - sitting on a stability ball for instance - and progress to more and more challenging exercises. I include stability ball or BOSU ball training in all my workouts usually near the end after I've exhausted my muscles doing more traditional weight training exercises.
One exercise everyone should do (in my opinion) is the Vacuum. This is the best exercise for developing the deep muscles of the abdominal wall - the muscles that compress the abdominal cavity into a hard column when there is a high weight transfer between the upper and lower body. This action takes the pressure off the spinal column and protects the person from spinal injury. To perform a Vacuum first exhale all the air from the lungs and WITHOUT inhaling suck the navel in towards the spine. The pain you'll feel is the TVA muscle contracting harder than it's ever done before. If you can't suck your navel in more than one inch chances are you have a recruitment problem with the TVA and the other muscle in the same neurological loop. This is common with people who sit for too big a portion of the day, with people who have had abdominal surgery and with women who do not become active right after pregnancy. This condition will likely lead to a back problem sooner or later and should be fixed. Balancing exercises will force the body to reestablish the neurological links to the TVA and associated muscles and get the core functioning again.
Re: Abs
Fantastic post David Thank you for the detailed explanations!!! BTW Vacuum rocks When I do yoga I am supposed to keep my abs tight and do vaccums while doing poses...pretty tough trying to control your abs for the duration of the class..1.5 hours I must be honest I do not work abs at all. They get worked while doing yoga,playing volley and weights plus I use stability ball as my computer chair
I love food.
Thank you for the detailed explanations!!! BTW Vacuum rocks
When I do yoga I am supposed to keep my abs tight and do vaccums while doing poses...pretty tough trying to control your abs for the duration of the class..1.5 hours
I must be honest I do not work abs at all. They get worked while doing yoga,playing volley and weights plus I use stability ball as my computer chair
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